Disclaimer: Belongs to Tolkien not me.
Aranel-Nenharma: You're welcome. If you decide too, just check out the simple guidelines on the submit page. And one other thing I've asked my authors to do is to leave a space between paragraphs so that I don't space your story wrong. :)
Ilenya the fair: Thanks. I'm glad you think so.
Myri78: Sorry you'll have to wait awhile for that.
Aewnaur: You'll just have to wait a few chapters for the answer. :)
loveroflegolas: I'm glad you like it.
Lady Fae: Nope, the fellowship only plays a small part in this story. But if you like those you should check out my other story Prisoner of the Fellowship if you haven't already.
Mel0Yel0#03: You're kidding, right? snickerdoodles are my favorite cookie of all time. :)...So if the last review was for ch 1 does it mean you don't like ch 2? :( I hope not.
TriGemini: Thanks. :)
Stormy: Thank you.
A/N: Things in bold are spoken in Elvish.
Someone roughly shakes Brianna and she sits up.
"Its time to go," Haldir says and hands her a pack.
"Go where?" she questions.
"Caras Galadon," he replies as he starts down the ladder.
She glances over the edge of the platform uneasily and then takes a step back. "Um, Haldir. I, I can't...I..."
"You have got to be joking," Haldir grumbles. He sighs and holds his hand out to her. "Come here." Brianna slowly walks over to him and takes his hand. He helps her climb onto the ladder in front of him so that he's behind her, but a couple of rungs down. He feels her begin to tremble in fear when she catches sight of how far up they are. "Close your eyes," he tells her.
"What?" she gasps. "Are you nuts?"
He steps up onto the rung she's standing on and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her body against his. "Trust me," he whispers in her ear. She shivers involentarily at the feel of his warm breath on her cheek and his body against hers. She closes her eyes and curses body for reacting in such a way toward this arrogant Elf. He begins climbing downward and she follows him.
They get to the ground and Haldir turns to find the guards all standing around watching in amusemnet. "Is there a problem here?" he questions.
"No, Captain," one of the guards responds.
"Then, get to your posts," he demands and they all quickly busy themselves.
Haldir turns back to Brianna "We've wasted enough time here. Let's go," he says cooly and starts into the forest.
They walk in silence for most of the day, Haldir being his usual 'cheery' self and Brianna deep in thought about how and why she's here. Sometime in the late afternoon she becomes tired of the same thoughts running through her head over and over so she begins to sing quietly to herself.
Not long after dark Haldir stops and turns to Brianna. "We'll camp here for the night."
"Thank God," she exclaims and drops to the ground. She watches him make a small fire and then he sits and digs through his pack.
"Here." He hands her a piece of stale looking bread. She looks at it in distaste. "It's Lembas, Elvish waybread. It will fill your stomache."
She timidly tries a bite and finds that its not stale at all. In fact, it has a slight honey flavor and it tastes quite good. "Thank you," she tells him and takes another bite.
When Brianna finishes eating she leans against a tree and tries to get comfortable. Finally she falls asleep out of sheer exhaustion.
The next morning Haldir shakes her awake and she looks around. "Man, it's still dark. Can't I sleep a little longer?"
"The sun will rise soon. Now get up," he demands. He gives her another piece of lembas and then they start out again. After she finishes eating she starts trying to annoy him as payback for waking her up so early. She begins asking him stupid questions but after awhile it just turns into "are we there yet?" over and over.
When he finally gets so irritated that he ignores her she chuckles. "Oh, lighten up Haldir. Get the stick out of your ass and have a little fun. It won't kill you, I promise."
"It would you though." He glares at her pointedly.
"Oooh. Did you just make a joke? The great Marchwarden does have a sense of humor," she teases and he rolls his eyes at her.
Brianna grins and continues walking in silence until something starts bugging her. Finally curiosity gets the better of her. "Haldir, Elves are immortal, Right?"
He gives her a strange look. "Yes. Though we can be killed or die of grief."
"Then I'm curious, how old are you?"
"Eight thousand- seven hundred- sixty two," he replies casually.
She looks up at him wid-eyed and stumbles over a branch. He reaches out to steady her and smirks. "How old are you?"
"As a human I'm twenty-six. As an Elf, well since yesterday."
He stops walking and looks at her in disbelief. "Humans don't just turn into Elves."
She scratches her head. "Yea, well. They don't just fall asleep and wake up in another world either. But it looks like I did both."
"How?" he asks in disbelief.
She shrugs and continues walking. "Your guess is as good as mine. I've been trying to figure it out since I got here."
Haldir catches up to her. "Perhaps Lady Galadriel can help."
"Great. Are we there yet?" she asks.
"Thankfully we only have another half hour," he sighs.
"Thank God!" Brianna cheers.
Brianna looks around in amazement as they walk through the city. Haldir has to take her arm to keep her from stopping every few seconds as she admires the beauty of the Caras Galadon.
They stop at the base of the largest tree Brianna has ever seen and she looks up at the stairs that disappear into the top of it. The though of climbing then doesn't bother her much because the railing gives her a sense of security.
She looks around and realises that Caras Galadon is much larger than she thought because most of the city is built up in the trees. Brianna's gaze returns to the staircase in front of her. "Jeez! No wonder you've got such a nice ass."
Haldir's jaw practically hits the ground. "Pardo me?"
"Oh don't play innocent with me. You males aren't the only ones that look. So is my ass to big?" she asks.
"No. Your ass is just fine. And I advise you not to keep the Lady waiting," he says irritably.
"Ha," she laughs. "So you did check out my ass. You males are all the same." She starts climbing the stairs laughing the whole way.
"I dispise you," he grumbles as he follows her up the stairs. This, however, only makes her laugh harder.
Galadriel and Celeborn are standing on a balcony watching the two Elves at the bottom of the stairs. Galadriel laughs at their conversation and turns to her husband. "She's perfect for him."
"She does seem to have his strange sense of humor, though I don't approve of such language from a lady," Celeborn frowns.
"You did not seem to mind last night, my husband." Galadriel looks up at him teasingly.
"So what shall we do about them," he says, quickly changing the subject.
Galadriel smiles and looks back down at the two making their way to the top of the stairs. "We will put her in his care so that they will have to spend time together."
Celborn leans against the railing and looks at her. "Do you think it will work?"
Galadriel sighs. "It has too, for both their sakes."
Haldir leads Brianna onto a beautiful balcony that overlooks the entire city. "Wow," she gasps at the sight. She catches a glimpse of light and turns. Standing at the top of a wide set of stairs are two majestic looking Elves. The male is tall and noble. The female is the most beautiful woman she has ever seen and has an air of great power around her.
Brianna notices Haldir bow to them so she follows his lead. She figures that since she's not wearing a dress it would look a little silly if she curtsied and even more ridiculous if she fell over trying to. She has never curtsied to anyone in her life.
"Welcome," Galadriel smiles. "We have been expecting you, Lady Brianna."
Brianna looks at her in confusion. "How?"
Galadriel smiles at her knowingly. "I believe you made a wish."
Brianna's eyes go wide as her last night on earth flashes through her mind. "Did you...? Are you the one that brought me here?"
Galadriel shakes her head. "No. That was the Valar's doing. You are in their favor and they want you to be happy." She turns to look at her husband.
"Since you do not know the ways of the Elves I am placing you in the care of our Marchwarden until you get settled. He will teach you our ways and I also ask that he teach you the sword and bow. This is something that all Elves are trained in, though many elleths choose not to continue their training after they become of age. I have also heard that you saved one of our gaurds?"
"No, Lord Celeborn. He was wounded and I merely cleaned and stitched his wound," she tells him.
"Maybe so but but your healing methods seem much more advanced than ours. Calenril is already up and about as to where he would have been confined to bed for days with our healing knowledge," Galadriel tells her.
"May I ask why you don't have healers among the guard on your borders? In my world its common to have MASH units avalible." When everyone gives her a questioning glance she realizes they don't know what she's talking about. "MASH stands for mobile army surgical hospital. Our armies use them to tend to those that are wounded in battle when doctors, healers aren't normally avalible."
Celeborn looks lost in thought for a minute and then focuses his gaze on her. "That sounds very useful. Would you be willing to organize and lead such a unit under the Marchwarden's command?"
Brianna glances at Haldir before turning back to Celeborn. "I uh, I guess so," she replies.
"Good. Haldir, Lady Brianna is to be inducted as Captain of this new 'MASH' unit immediatly," Celeborn says.
Haldir bows and turns to Brianna. "Follow me and I will show you how to get to my talan."
Brianna hesitates and then looks back at Celeborn and Galadriel. "I mean no disrespect, my lord, but I've made Haldir tired of me on the way here. Isn't there anyone else that would be willing to take me in?"
"Nonsense," Galadriel smiles. "Haldir doesn't mind. Do you Haldir?"
"Not at all, my lady. It would be an honor," he bows. The expression on his face is neutral but Brianna knows that he can't be happy about the arrangement in the least.
"Then its settled," Celeborn smiles.
Brianna gives a curt nod towards the Lord and Lady and follows Haldir off the balcony. "You have to teach me how you do that."
"Do what?" Haldir questions.
"Hide your emotions like that. I know you aren't any happier than me about the situation." she says as she follows him through the trees.
"No, but as Marchwarden it is my duty to abide by my Lord and Lady's wishes," he sighs.
"That's gotta suck, be aweful," she clarifies when he gives her a confused look.
"It has its benifits," he smirks. "For instance, you are now one of the Galadrim soldiers and you have to follow my orders."
Brianna narrows her eyes at him. "I really dispise you," she groans and he chuckles.