A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Addicted fan/~Coraline03. As unintentional as it may have seemed, you gave me the motivation I needed to finish this chapter. Thank you!
Now, on with the story!
"If anyone among us is to be accused of treachery, it's you!"
They crossed a dale, passing a stream of gurgling ice blue water.
'It's all my fault…'
Down the mountains they ventured, towards the wood that loomed off in the distance.
'If I only could've held on longer…'
They jogged across an open field. Its grass was tall as it swayed against the nimble fingers of the wind.
'The spell is broken…'
At long last they arrived at the skirt of the forest.
'It's all my fault…'
Or had it truly been long at all? Some time ago—and how long that was, she could not honestly say—but Eina had since left the world she resided and ventured to another deep within her mind.
'All I see is death…' The raven scoffed, her eyes lost to the fog of her mind, 'that seems to be all I ever bring.'
The Fellowship paused for only a moment before slipping beneath the shade of the trees.
But as she ventured after her comrades, her movements far more mechanical then throughout, a curious thing happened. A second voice spoke out in Eina's mind, and it was certainly not her own. It was as calm and regal as the forest around them. Yet it also harbored a sense of wisdom that was far older than any of the trees.
'Is that what you truly believe?' The voice inquired.
Eina, in her shock, snapped back to the conscious world. Her eyes snapped about, trying to find the source of the peculiar voice as it continued to speak to her. 'Your heart is heavy with much toil and sorrow. But do not despair, for there is much truth to be told upon your arrival.' The voice then faded, and departed her mind. Despite this, Eina couldn't help but speak aloud a question that had come to mind.
"Arrive?" She asked, craning her neck around, still searching but to no avail. "Arrive where?" She paid no mind to her comrades as they looked at her in confusion as she continued to peer about. For an instant, the entire company stopped, all looking around the forest in befuddlement. But as they turned to begin their trek one more, the Fellowship found themselves at arrow point and surrounded by a band of Elves who had appeared quite seemingly out of nowhere.
"Arrive, indeed. The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark." One of the Elves stepped forward, his position clearly that of a Marchwarden. His face was handsomely cut and he had long blonde hair with a tall stature and the sense of command that hovered about the very air around him was impossible to miss. His green eyes were touched by a shade of harshness as they washed over the Fellowship. Gimili was growling under his breath, but said nothing.
"Yet, you are fortunate." The Marchwarden added. "The Lady of Light has sent us in search of you. You have her personal invitation to reside in Caras Galadhon," his eyes than passed between Frodo and Eina, "despite the great evils you bring with you."
"Invitation?" Sam dared ask.
The Elf looked toward the Half-ling with a blatant look of irritation. "Much to your benefit, yes."
"But why?" Frodo continued.
The Elf was growing irate. "That is knowledge only the Lord and Lady are privilege. Now come. With all of this chatter, the new age will have begun before we arrive." With his final muted command given, the Elf turned about and began to stride away. His entourage of archers followed swiftly behind their commander, the Fellowship trailing along behind them in silence as they ventured into the woods.
# & #
Deeper and deeper into the woods the traveled, the trees growing larger and larger the further they went. But Eina paid none of they any mind, for once again found herself lost to her thoughts. Question upon question rolled over in her mind, many how's and why's endlessly spinning among her thoughts.
But after a time, she was so pained by these inquisitions that had no answers that she fell completely within herself and not a thought passed through her mind. She saw nothing. She heard nothing. She thought noting. She was void of everything and all sense of her surroundings had come to a crashing halt.
Her eyes had fallen into a deadened stare, and her expression emptied of all of that which resembled life. To her fortune, night had fallen, and no one could see her transformation. But she did not notice, nor could she care. For if she cared about anything at that moment, her already dangerously fragile hold on the last frayed threads of her emotional sanity would collapse. Better she do all she could to prevent such a thing from happening, at least while in the company of the Fellowship.
So silently, she walked among the rest of the company, her mind filled only with a vacant numbness and she unconsciously followed the mop of curly brown hair in front of her ever deeper into the even darker woods.
# & #
How long Eina had resided within herself, she was unaware. And she would have remained so had the voice from the skirt of the wood not reappeared. It was as clear as before, uttering words so loud that she could not help but awaken to hear.
'Release yourself from this sadness.' The voice said. 'It does not do one well to dwell on the past and forget to live.'
'The past…' The smallest pang of bitterness rang through her, 'yet another thing I fail to know, let alone understand.' Eina did not want to hear the voice anymore, and so she began to fall back within herself, fully intending to ignore any further intrusions the voice had to offer.
That is, until the voice made a curious claim. One that Eina could not help but intake.
'It is for such reasons I have requested your presence.' The voice said smoothly. Though Eina did not respond, her curiosity kept her listening. 'Gather your strength, and raise your eyes child. For needless were none of the deeds in Gandalf's life. We do not yet know his whole purpose, much like we do not know of yours.'
Eina gulped and then dared to return to herself, lifting her dimly lit eyes to peer through her raven bangs. But to her astonishment, she found herself meeting the piercing blue stare of a She-Elf that stood right before her.
Like a raging wild fire, a blazing sense of alarm and danger passed through Eina's body. While she had been so buried within herself, Eina had not noticed that she was once again deep within a realm that was ruled by the light. All instinct within her commanded that she flee. But the Lady would not drop her gaze, and Eina found herself petrified where she stood.
It was also now clear that the voice she continued to hear belonged to the Elf-Witch standing before her. 'Welcome back.' A coy grin tipped one of the corners of the Lady's mouth. 'I am Galadriel, Lady of Light, and I welcome you to Caras Galadohn, the heart of Elvendom on earth.'
'What do you intend?' Eina conveyed, her mind and body wrought with a sense of trepidation.
To this, the Lady smiled, but the gesture as soft a summer's breeze yet as mysterious as the deepest hours of the night. 'In good time. Now be at peace, for no soul among this place will do you harm.'
It was in this instant that Eina was blessed with a glorious sense of calm and peace. It washed over her like a warm breeze, completely erasing her previous sense of panic. Eina reflexively let her shoulders relax as all sense of tension left her body.
It was then that she realized that the She-Elf's title of 'Elf Witch' was not a mere name given to her out of fancy; she was powerful, terrifying so. Eina could see it plainly by just meeting her eyes. And yet, Galadriel was also gracious with her abilities to have numbed her panic of the light with a mere look. She was truly great.
Then, with a gentle flutter of lashes, Galadriel broke the connection, and her gaze turned towards the group as a whole.
"And hope will remain while the company is true." Galadriel's eyes fell on another figure among their small crowd, all whom Eina now noticed stood before the royal couple. Frodo was tight to her side and her brother's hand at her shoulder—though previously she had failed to notice any of this.
Oddly enough, to her left, Legolas shifted in his boots. It became apparent that the Elf-Witch had set her gaze on the Prince.
The Lady carried on. "Yet truth, it would seem, has been shrouded among you." Galadriel's gaze did not waver. To this, a tremor of confusion washed over the Fellowship and soon, all eyes fell on to the Prince.
"Legolas?" Aragorn asked the Elf beside him. But this Prince was mute, his expression calm and controlled as the Lady continued to gaze at him with a passively fierce stare.
Galadriel did not allow time for a response. Her words were cold and frank. "Your task is folly, Prince. He is wrong." Then, just as before, with a gentle blink she broke the connection, and the ferocity in her eyes vanished upon her blue orbs next reveal.
Despite the oddity that had just occurred, no one dared to inquire and interrupt the Lady as she carried on. "But do not let your hearts be troubled. Now go and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace. Haldir will provide the way."
The Marchwarden who guided them had once again appeared, bowed low to the couple and gestured the Fellowship follow and they did without question. At the tail of the group, Eina cast the Lady a parting glance. To this, the Lady nodded, a secretive smile once again gracing her lips. She then turned her husband and they joined arms and began to return up the steps from which they had undoubtedly come.
"Eina?" Frodo asked, having lingered nearby.
She looked back around to the half-ling, somehow cracking a small smile. "I'm coming Frodo." Without a second glance, Eina strode after the Hobbit and the pair began to trail after the comrades.
# & #
As the group meandered along, Eina had to repress the shock upon finally seeing the sights before her; upon departing the platform, it became painfully obviously that they were no longer among the solid comfort of mother earth, but teetering high up in the thick brows of the grandest trees of the forest. It was truly a palace among the trees, and they were in the highest residence of them all. Eina let herself fall in step behind Frodo, letting her brother take the rear as they began to descend back down the stairs, which wound gracefully around the thick trunks of the ancient trees.
To all of this, a light of curiosity and wonder appeared in her eyes as they passed over other platforms and landings as they continued in their decent. It was now deep into the night, and gentle globes of light had appeared, dotting the night with their magical incandescence as they guided the group ever lower.
Upon reaching solid ground again, Eina couldn't help but let out a breath of amazement: the view from below was just as miraculous as it was from above. The trees were truly incomparably colossal; she had to strain her neck just to see the palace from which they'd come from. So lost to the momentary glory of it all, she stuttered in her walk. To her delay, Boromir had up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder once again.
"Are you alright?" He asked, his tone mildly laced with worry.
She swiftly nodded, a smile now playing at her lips. "Yes, I am alright. This place is just so beautiful." Her eyes fell upon the endless paths that wound their way through the trees, soft grasses lining their edges and more of the glowing spheres dotting along their paths.
Boromir smiled to her in return, his hand returning to his side upon her words. "That it is." The man let his eyes also take in the pristine beauty of the Elf Haven around them, and for a moment, the pair was silent.
But with their company beginning to vanish around a bend in the path, they picked up their feet again and carried on. "I can only imagine how it must look during the day." Eina wondered aloud as they moseyed along.
Boromir walked in pace besides her, turning to smile at her directly. "We shall find out in morning."
She smiled contentedly back at him, so blissfully lost to the beauty of the forest around them that not even the darkest of her thoughts could penetrate the peace that surrounded them.
# & #
Haldir had set them up in a small grove in the glade that was nestled in between the bases and exposed roots of a handful of the forests large trees. Upon entering the scene, Merry and Pippin were first to take note of the pillows and blankets that had been laid out for them, laughing in sheer glee at being reunited with these the long lost amenities.
They each had also been given a spare set of clothes to change into at their desire—Eina was almost too afraid to touch the silken blue dress she'd been given. And while their new outfits were Elvin in make, none of them could protest. They had been in the same dirtied garbs for far too long and none of them dared complain or deny their host's generosity.
The Hobbits continued to banter gleefully about the astonishing softness of the pillows and blankets, Gimili swiftly grabbed one of the pillows, plopped himself down between the roots of one of large trees, and was asleep—while also snoring most vehemently—within minutes. Boromir laughed at the dwarf's antics, shaking his head in joking exasperation as he made a place for himself among the glade, Eina coming to sit at his side.
Upon settling in, Boromir's eyes began to wander before eventually falling over to Aragorn and Legolas. The pair had separated themselves from the others and they were now exchanging a hushed murmur of words. To this, a clear look of curiosity broke out across the man's face, to which his sister swiftly noted. She swiftly followed his gaze towards the pair, her expression soon resembling that of her brother's as they silently watched the Ranger and Elf interact.
The duo was clearly engaged in some sort of serious discussion, for both of their expressions were strained. And they were so locked within the words they were exchanging, that neither of them noticed the sibling pair watch them silently from afar.
After a moment, Boromir posed a question. "Can you hear anything?" He asked softly, his eyes never wavering from the Prince and the Ranger.
Eina blinked, her concentration halting for an instant. Her eyes then widened slightly. "No. I can't." But after a moments thought, it became clear. "Lady Galadriel must have something to do with this."
"What do you mean?" Her brother asked, finally breaking his stare and looking to Eina.
She pulled her hair over one shoulder, turning to meet his gaze. "She somehow suppressed the darkness within me."
"You mean she's repaired the spell?"
To this, Eina shook her head. "No, but she made me feel… safe. Or perhaps, unthreatened despite my being here." Her brother looked to her with a quirked brow. "It is as if she took my unease and replaced it with calm, for I no longer fear being in such a place so riddle with light."
Boromir nodded in understanding, shrugging slightly. "That would make most sense. But what's this now?" Her brother's gaze had glanced back over to Legolas and Aragorn, and Eina's swiftly followed suit.
Aragorn had suddenly stood upright, his jaw clenched and his stature clearly tense. Without a spare word to the Prince—whose expression also harbored an unusual look of dismay—Aragorn left the campsite, his eyes blazing in some evident fury as he stormed off.
This uncharacteristically brash behavior from their typically cool and collected Ranger earned looks from the entire company. Eyes then jumped between the path in which Aragorn had departed and Legolas, who remained as he was, resting against one of the trees. However, he too let out a sigh of most weary and even regretful tones before rising and leaving the scene as well, departing, however, on a different path than the Ranger.
"Now what do you suppose that was all about?" Merry asked from nearby, his arms wrapped tightly around his enormous pillow.
"I am not sure," Boromir answered before standing, "but I will go speak to Aragorn about it."
Eina leapt up in an instant. "I will go with you."
"No." Boromir replied firmly. "While this place is unquestionably safe, someone has to stay and watch the little-ones. I will be back shortly." He ruffled her hair, which instantly threw the younger off at the surprise attack. Boromir laugh jovially, swiftly departing while Eina tried to regain her sight and fix the mess her brother had made of her ink-black hair.
Once having remedied her brother's oh so loving moves of affection, Eina huffed and flopped back down onto the ground, her arms folded in a slight pout at having been left behind. The half-lings were having a hard time not laughing at Eina's expense, but even she couldn't help but find the situation more endearing than it was an actual nuisance. After a time, the remaining members of the Fellowship were all laughing joyfully.
A few moments passed, and they all finally had calmed, and the Marchwarden appeared once again. Haldir nodded to them curtly. "A series of baths have been arranged for those of you who desire them." To this, all of the Hobbits and Eina jumped up, chattering excitedly amongst themselves, each collecting their new clothes before following Haldir out of the camp.
"I can't remember the last time I had a bath!" Pippin exclaimed, practically on the heels of the Marchwarden as he bounced behind him in glee.
"Well, you did fall into the lake with the sea monster." Merry countered, following after his friend.
"That was hardly a bath!" The then two continued to argue similar topics as they walked on.
However, Sam suddenly gave a quick shout from behind them. "Wait a moment!" He then turned and ran back into the campsite, the others curious as to what he was doing. But after a short moment, a confused and clearly startled yelp was heard, and Sam remerged from the glade with Gimili in tow. The dwarf was clearly not keen on having been awoken so abruptly, and he grumbled as he marched past them, his new clothes also bound haphazardly in one fist and dragging slightly on the ground.
Sam stopped beside them as Gimili marched passed, a sheepish look on his round face. "I couldn't stand the smell of him any longer." To this statement everyone openly laughed. Even Haldir couldn't help but grin.
The Marchwarden then cleared his throat, trying to brush away the chuckle that threatened to escape his lips. "We carry on then." And for the first time in months, the group walked along with spirits of humor as Haldir continued to lead them along.
# & #
After they all had been blissfully scrubbed and freshly clothed, the group was once again escorted back to their campsite. However, after having been so pampered and actually given the chance to relax, they all began to realize just how exhausted they were. Thus, their walk back was quiet as they prepared themselves for sleep the instant they returned.
But upon entering the camp, it quickly become obvious that peace was nowhere to be found. Instead, a sight of great shock and alarm was playing out before them.
Boromir had his hands latched onto the scruff of Legolas's collar, with the Elf's hands were on the man's wrists in clear efforts of trying to free himself with Aragorn latched between them trying to break up the dispute.
But none of the trio noticed how loudly they were shouting, and how clearly their words could be heard by those standing on the skirt of the campsite as they all stood in shock, too astonished at the sight before them to intervene.
"Quell your anger Boromir!" Aragorn urged. "I was cross as well, but Legolas was only doing that in which Lord Elrond asked of him!" The Ranger had a hand on each of them, still trying to separate the pair, but to no avail.
But the other man would not relinquish his hold on the Elf and Boromir's hands had begun to slip up towards Legolas's neck. But Aragorn was determined to keep the man at bay, and the two fought each other's grip. To all of this, a frightening aura of seething anger dripped from every inch of Boromir as his hands fighting ever closer to the Elf's throat.
"And he is no better than all the demon-spawn of Sarumon's armies by agreeing to it!" At last, Aragorn wrenched them apart, clearly placing himself between the man and the Elf in order to keep any more violence at bay.
"Answer me this, Elf," Boromir's eyes were wicked, full of malice and hate as he spoke, "she passed each his tests, acted out against no one, and did everything he asked of her. You even bared witness to it all, and made a fool of as well, and yet you still found it right within yourself to spy on her?"
All sound had stopped upon these words. Not even the night dared continue its soundtrack. All that could be heard with the heated breaths of angry older brother.
"Lord Elrond requested it…" The Prince tried to defend, but he soon let his words die off.
"Out of connivance for himself!" Boromir yelled, throwing his hands up in a great move of infuriation. "He made you his worm, set to do his dirty work for him. And even though you knew he was wrong, you agreed without question. But now let me ask: what did you discover? That she cast us under her spell? Or perhaps betrayed us as Elrond predicted she may?"
The Elf remained silent.
Boromir carried on. "Exactly. She has done nothing, nor would such a thought ever pass her mind. She is far better than you or your Lord, and if anyone among us is to be accused of treachery, it's you!"
There was an icy pause before a cracked voice broke out and shattered the tension wrought air with words that were just as fragile. "So all this time…" Eina's words faded into no more than a wisp of a breath. She could not finish her sentence, for her mind could not bear to accept it. But what pained her more than all of these words was the Prince's expression. He would not meet her eyes, but nor could he hide the look of dismayed shame on his handsome face as she stared horrorstruck at him from across the glade.
The three men, finally now realizing they had been overheard, each looked away in looks of shame, and anger, but this time at themselves for not being more aware of their surroundings and who heard might have happened to hear them.
Boromir instantly separated himself, now clearly worried for his sister. "Eina…"
But with each step he took forward, she took two back, endlessly shaking her head in attempts to deny that which her mind knew she could. Her eyes refused to break from Legolas, who still refused to meet her gaze. She took more and more steps until she could not even hold onto the Prince's defeated form, and eventually, she turned and bolted into the darkness of night.
Eina tore down the many paths of Caras Celedhorn, paying no mind to which turns she took and where her frantic sprint was leading her. All she knew was that she could not be in the campsite. So she ran on, her mind turning over question after a question, all while tears freely fell from her eyes as she ran.
# & #
'Why does no one trust me?' She turned left down a well-worn path. Her mind continued down the dark rabbit hole of thoughts until she finally slowed in her running, and came to a complete stop.
At long last, a question she never dared fully asked herself passed across her mind. 'Perhaps it would have been best had I not joined the Fellowship.'
'That,' Galadriel's voice spoke out, 'is not true.'
'But how do you know?' Eina asked weakly.
'I have seen it.' Confusion instantly bubbled up within Eina's mind, her tears eventually subsiding as curiosity began to take over and Galadriel herself appeared before her.
"Come." The Elf-Witch then turned down another path. "I will show you."
For a time they walked in silence, the sound of night once again providing them with a peaceful music with its chirping insects and swaying of leaves. The Lady walked ahead of Eina, the pair looking quite graceful as they walked together in and out of the moonlight.
"Do not be much upset with the Prince." Galadriel began, "for he has already long since realized the error of his ways."
"I know. And it is not so much Legolas I am at ends with. It is Lord Elrond." Eina paused. "Brother was right: I did everything Lord Elrond asked of me, and yet he still cannot find it within himself to trust me."
"People fear that in which they do not easily understand. And you are quite a mystery."
"How? Lord Elrond knows of all of my powers. He's witnessed them himself and even sent some of his people to spy on me to learn even more. If anything, I am far from a mystery to him."
"It is not your powers he does not understand, it is how you came to obtain them that frightens him."
There was a pause about the air before Eina posed her next question. "What do you mean?" The younger asked.
"Seventeen years ago you arrived in Middle Earth with not even a name and no more than the clothes on your back. You were found by Boromir outside the White City and then brought up among his family. But as time passed, it became clear that you were far from the norm: you harbored vast powers of darkness that not even the greatest sorcerers of this world could ever hope to master."
"I did not ask for such a curse." Eina said quietly.
Galadriel stopped and turned to her. They had paused beneath the moonlight, and it encased them both in a haunting glow. "Curse? Or a blessing." Galadriel then continued, both in her serene walk and Eina still followed, the pair slowly meandering they way among the trees, silence once again drifting between them.
Not long after, they then traveled down a short flight of shallow steps and into another glade. The space was locked between the bases of trees and their roots, a stream of fresh water trickling from amidst the great roots and into a small stream. And at the glade's center was an ornate pedestal with a shallow silver basin.
Eina stopped upon reaching the last step. She was momentarily keen only on watching Galadriel retire a silver pitcher from amidst the roots of the trees before moving to fill it with water from the stream. Galadriel then spoke as she moved elegantly over towards the pedestal, the pitcher still in hand. "You were given these powers, that I am sure," the Lady then began to pour water into the basin as she spoke, "but how… and why…" the ewer had emptied and the Elf-Witch stepped back, "those are the things the Elf Lord fears."
"If I had the answers, I would give them to him… but I have none." Eina said hopelessly.
To this, Galadriel passed the younger woman a wise smile. "Look into the mirror, and perhaps you will find them." The Elf-Witch's eyes than trailed towards the basin, and Eina could not deny herself a chance at the truth; so gingerly, she walked forward, her pale blue dress skimming the ground as she walked into the glade. Eina's hands took to the side of the basin, and she leaned forward, peering into the mirror.
Everything went backwards. First, Eina saw the argument she had witnessed not moments ago. Then it changed to their journey in the Mines, then to Rivendell and the trials, and even to her discovery of Hobbiton all those months ago.
But the mirror went back further still. Back to memories of her own adventures and misfortunes and blissful times spent with her father and brothers in the White City. Further and further back the mirror traveled until the very day she awoke in the Minas Tirith.
Then an odd fog overcame the water, and nothing could be seen. Eina's brow furrowed and she looked up. Galadriel was already staring at her with her ever-piercing blue gaze. "It is not often that the mirror is fogged."
"What does this mean?"
"That there is a shroud about your mind. One that needs to be removed should you wish to remember."
Eina paused only for an instant. "Could you do it?"
"Only if you permit me."
There was no pause between her words and Eina's answer. "Then I will allow it."
"A word of caution," the Elf-Witch warned, "the truth can be a heavy burden to bare. Are you prepared to carry this new weight?"
Eina swallowed, the Lady's words heavy in her throat. "You said that there was a shroud… but have you seen what lays beyond it?"
Eina's heart began to pound when she watched the Lady nod. The younger gulped once again, and finally replied. "Please remove this veil so I may know the truth." Too long had her past been shrouded in darkness, and her desire to know the truth heavily outweighed her fear of what it could be.
Galadriel's face then obtained a look of upmost focus as she walked around the basin, coming to stand directly before the Eina. The Elf-Witch then brought a hand up to Eina's face, her palm coming to float just in front of the younger's forehead, her fingers gently spread. Galadriel then spoke, "Close your eyes. And no matter what you see, remember that your importance in this War and within this world are far greater than you know."
To her words, Eina nodded, and with that, the Elf-Witch began to speak swiftly in tongues.
Even from behind her closed eyes, Eina could see a white light beginning to glow in the Elf-Witch's hand. Upon the illumination of this light, Eina felt the strange sensation—like a snake sifting through the grass—as Galadriel filtered her way through Eina's mind. It was hardly seconds before the Elf-Witch moved towards the edge of the fog, and then, with a surge of blinding white power, she blasted the grey veil away.
A rush of memory flew into Eina's conscious mind like a rage of violent thunder. It was so intense that Eina stumbled back and she dropped to her knees, instantly breaking the connection.
But the deed was done, and the fog had been lifted.
However, as Eina crouched on the dewy grass, her eyes glazed over as she reviewed the memories that had been returned. In truth, it was not much, but it was enough to have her eyes quickly roll over to a chilling horror upon realizing just what she now knew.
"Return your gaze to the mirror and you will fully understand what it is you saw." Galadriel had stepped away, returning to her previous place on the other side of the basin. Eina then stood on shaking legs, almost frantic as she grasped the sides of the basin.
Upon her panicked gaze, the water began to churn and the once foggy hue that tainted the mirror began to disperse. Thus, the scene amidst the waters began to evolve and she watched the waters begin to tell their story.
So… let me know what you think? And I know that this chapter is shorter than most, but I've come to realize that I need to keep these chapters under 6,000 words to keep myself sane; in fact, the other half of what was supposed to be the original—and ridiculously long—chapter is already finished, but rather than taking yet another week to getting around to polish it off, I decided that it would be best for everyone if I just chopped it in half…That, and I have a slight addiction to cliffhangers. But there should be an update next Wednesday-ish seeing as how I'm so far along with the next chapter already.
Until Later.