"Elvish"

Everyone in the Fellowship seemed to be low in spirit, no one more than Frodo and Aragorn. Merry, Sam and Pippin tried to cheer their cousin and friend up as much as possible but it was hard when they were also feeling sadder the further and further they got from Lothlórien and their friend.

Aragorn was his usual self, during the day at least but as soon as night fell, he'd smile and think about how Eleniel would find this funny and that he couldn't wait to tell her until he remembered that there was no visiting their clearing or sitting on their bench talking that night or any night for a long time.

The hours passed as they rowed, getting closer and closer to the Falls of Rauros. The hours turned to days and the days became weeks. The Fellowship soon fell into a pattern. They would row all day until night fell then they'd go to shore and sleep. As time went on, the chatter within the group became less and less until soon, seldom anyone talked even the Hobbits seemed to stop trying to engage in conversation. Eleniel had a bigger impact on the group than they thought. All of them thought it would be easy to fall back into the routine they had before they met her but now, they kind of expected her to be there when they woke and slept at night.

On one particular night when they were especially missing their friend, Frodo finally spoke the words that was on everyone's mind as he ate. "I miss Lee. I wish she could've come." He said out in the open, silencing what little conversation Aragorn and Legolas were having about which way to travel.

"Same," Pippin replies wistfully. "I miss hearing her sing at night. It always put me right to sleep." Merry and Sam nodded, agreeing with his words. Legolas, Boromir, Gimli and Aragorn had to agree aswell, they also quite enjoyed hearing her sing and it did make them relax and feel at peace especially after they'd have a long day of walking when they were travelling to Lothlórien.

Soon it seemed like everyone wanted to say something that they liked and missed about Eleniel even Boromir had something to say about her, claiming that he liked how wise she was. The Hobbits seemed to have more things to say about her than the others although Aragorn said nothing instead he sat next to Frodo, silently listening to their words while subconsciously caressing the necklace around his neck. He did not notice that everyone had stopped talking and were now looking at him.

"Oh I'm sorry," he said to them, his hand retracting from his neck. "Did you ask me something?" They did not answer, instead they stared at him well, more specifically his neck. He held himself still and tried to not squirm at the uncomfortable stares he was receiving.

Gimli opened his mouth and asked, "That necklace. I did not notice you wearing one before?" He looked thoughtful as if trying to figure out if he just simply did not notice or if he was losing his mind.

"That's because he wasn't wearing one before." Boromir replied looking intently at the necklace.

They continued to stare at him as if trying to place whether he was wearing one before or not. "It belongs to Lee. She must have given it to Aragorn." Frodo said to the group receiving a nod from the man himself. The group stared at him, Legolas and Gimli looking at him with knowing looks on their faces. Stupid Elf, stupid Dwarf he thought.

Gimli grunted before looking at the jewel that the pendant housed, "I have not seen a jewel like that before and I'm a Dwarf." Aragorn shook his head at the Dwarf before his gaze fell to the white-blue jewel around his neck.

"You wouldn't have. It's not from Middle Earth, it's from Valinor." Aragorn replied to the now gaping group. Everyone seemed very interested in this particular jewel now that they knew that it came from the Undying Lands, Legolas especially.

The rest of the Fellowship commented on how it was definitely the most beautiful jewel they'd ever seen. Gimli stated that it was even more beautiful than the Arkenstone or any piece of mithril he had seen which is saying something. They asked many questions about it and Aragorn just repeated the information that Eleniel had told him. They all seemed sad that you couldn't find it anywhere in Arda or Valinor now that the Trees of Valinor were destroyed.

As the night wore on, everyone fell asleep until it was only Frodo and Aragorn awake who was taking first watch. His little Hobbit friend sat valiantly beside him, choosing to stay up and talk with his friend instead of sleeping. The topic of Eleniel's necklace came up once again and the Hobbit asked him the question that he had been asking himself for awhile, "Aragorn, are you in love with Eleniel?" He asked him, glancing at him briefly before turning to stare at the embers of the burning fire aswell.

His thoughts immediately turned to that of the Elf like it did every night. Aragorn had to gather his thoughts and wits about him as he thought over the question his friend asked him. After awhile he answered, "It does not matter Frodo. I am Mortal, she is not. I will die one day and she will keep living."

"But the Lady Lúthien and Master Beren. They were together and she was immortal."

Aragorn explained how the Lady Lúthien gave up her immortality so she could be with Beren and that he would not ask that of Eleniel. Frodo argued that a decision like that was not his to make and that if he truly did love her then he should at least fight for her but Aragorn remained resolute in his decision. "You do not understand Frodo. If I tell her how I feel and she feels the same then I will be putting her in a difficult position." Aragorn said, the frustration clear in his voice.

His hands ran through the strands of his hair before returning to his side, clenched into fists. Frodo asked him what did he mean by difficult position. "If I tell her of my true feelings and she returns them then I will be making her choose between me and her family," Aragorn replied. "No Mortal can enter into the Undying Lands so if she chooses to be with me then she'll never see her family again. A family she has not seen since the First Age. Her father, brothers, her people."

"I cannot ask that of her Frodo. Now, you should really get some sleep, we rise with the sun." Frodo nodded numbly before laying down in his bed roll wondering how the Valar could be so cruel as to allow his friends fate to be filled with such loss and anguish.

Eleniel was a full day behind the Fellowship and missed them terribly. Probably as much as they missed her. It was weird for her to lay at night and to not have a Hobbit in her arms. It was also weird to not spend hours talking to Aragorn at night. Her grey eyes found the moon in the sky as she thought of the ranger.

At least we're under the same moon she thought. Lying down that first night away from them had been hard. She'd think of something that had happened that day and think to tell Frodo and them about it only to realise she was alone or she'd be practicing her archery and then turn to show Legolas how good her shooting was only to remember that he wasn't standing there next to her.

When morning came, she resolved to not rest that night and instead row through the night so she could catch up with them. She did not care if Estel was going to be angry with her, the Ring was her quest so she had to go with them no matter what he said. Morning turned to afternoon then to evening until it was maybe around midnight when she heard it. The sounds of warg howls and the clashing of swords. She immediately rowed back to shore, pulled her sword out and cautiously made her way over to where the sounds were coming from.

Looking through a thicket of trees, she saw the very people she was chasing after fighting against wargs and orcs. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir were holding their own while the Hobbits looked like they were going to be run over by the wargs and their riders. With only the safety of her friends on her mind, she pulled her sword from her belt and sprinted towards the warg that was about to take a bite out of the frightened Sam. Her sword lit up a brilliant orange and red as the very blade was lit with flames. The Fellowship watched in terrifying awe as her blade met the furred neck of the warg and cut it's head right off, the flames cutting through the flesh with ease. As soon as the warg was down, its riders head was gone next.

Giving the rest of the riders no time to process what had just happened, Eleniel moved to the next warg and its rider and dispatched their heads. This kept going until she was finished with the remaining orcs and wargs. Lifting her blade from the chest of the last orc, she wiped it clean of the blood on the grass before inspecting her clothes. She had a slight rip on the sleeve of her tunic and a scratch mark on her cheek from where one of the orcs arrows just clipped her. Turning to the Fellowship, she found shocked expressions mixed with relief, awe, suspicion and a little fear. The Hobbits, oh such a trusting race, immediately abandoned their weapons and raced towards their Saviour with shouts of glee.

"Lee! We missed you!" Eleniel smiles at her little friends, her eyes made brief eye contact with the rest of the Fellowship and from the looks she was receiving from Legolas, Gimli and Boromir, she knew that there would be questions from them and answers demanded from her.

"I missed you too, my friends." She greeted them, giving each of them a hug before urging them towards the boats on the shore claiming that if they were going to be attacked once that night then they could be attacked twice so everyone piled into the boats, Eleniel sitting in the same one as Gimli and Legolas while Frodo and Sam went with Estel and Merry and Pippin with Boromir.

There was not much talk as the rowed all night for fear that their pursuers were listening for them instead the Hobbits went to sleep while everyone else stayed awake just in case. When morning came, they decided to take a break for breakfast and Eleniel knew she would have to answer questions that she had been avoiding.

Pippin was the first one to speak. "I knew you were magical," he said, the rest of the Hobbits eagerly agreeing with him. Well that's not how she thought this talk would start off. They immediately launched into their explanation of how they noticed the reaction nature had to her and how Pippin had noticed her healing Merry when they first met. It seemed Hobbits were very observant.

"Why did you come?," Legolas asked her, eying her suspiciously again. "Why did you follow us all this way? Our quest is dangerous and I just can't understand why you would want to be apart of it? And what was that with the fire? And your sword?" Eleniel sighed knowing that it was story time. She told them everything that she had told Aragorn. From her quest to the talk she had with the Valar and more.

"You have powers? So you're an istari?" Estel asked her, talking to her for the first time since she had arrived. Eleniel nodded at him but explained that while the istari were all blessed by a certain member of the Valar, that she was blessed by all.

"In a way, I am an istari but I am also not. I do not have the same restrictions as them nor do I need a staff to channel my magic," she told them, each of them enraptured in her words. "My magic is also subjective to my own growth and I don't know if you noticed but whenever I use certain powers of mine, strange markings appear on my body." The group nodded noting that they had all seen the rune like mark that appeared on the hand she was holding her sword in when she was fighting.

"So you can't reunite with your family until you finish your quest?" Frodo asked her, his eyes trained on the trinket around his neck with a loathing look in his eye. Eleniel nodded at his words, a sad sigh escaping her mouth.

"I've always known that my quest was one that I would have to walk alone without my family or people but, I did not think that so much time would pass before I would see them again," A sad smile appeared on her face as she gazed off into the distance as if looking for something. "I am old and tired. I wish for this quest of mine to find its end more than anything."

The group accepted her explanations, each of them silently vowing to work harder to destroy the ring so their friend could find some semblance of peace in her long, hectic life.

Gimli didn't know what to think except that his elleth friend was strong, so very strong. He couldn't imagine having to live so long without his family or his people. She's much stronger than others would think and he liked that about her. The rest of the Fellowship were having similar thoughts as they all imagined living Ages without their families and to be the only one left of their people.

The atmosphere became melancholy as everyone became lost in their thoughts. Sam seeing that everyone was becoming increasingly more he asked her another question, hoping to distract her. "The First War against Sauron? If this is the quest the Valar has sent you on then you were there?" He received a nod to his question. "Then what happened? How did the ring find it's way to Bilbo?"

The Fellowship perked up at the question asked to her although Legolas and Boromir already knew what happened. Sighing, Eleniel sent Aragorn a sorry look before answering Sam. "It was in the midst of the great battle at the base of Mount Doom. I watched as my nephew, Gil-Galad, the last High King of Noldor and King Elendil of Gondor fall to the hand of Sauron."

"Many lost hope that we would defeat him but I refused to give in so I rallied the troops to stand firm against him and his armies." It was like Eleniel was caught in a trance as her mind reflected on certain events. "That's when I saw King Elendil's son, Isildur, run towards the fallen body of his father. Sauron saw this and attacked him, Isildur in desperation reached for his fathers sword and managed to cut the Ring from Saurons hand. Narsil, the sword that cut the ring from Saurons hand now lies in Rivendell in pieces."

"With his ring gone, Saurons body was destroyed. I watched as Isildur and Elrond went up Mount Doom, only for him to not destroy the ring and instead decide to keep it." Eleniel told the horrified Hobbits. She risked a glance at Aragorn and saw the shame written all over his face as he fidgeted with his plate of food.

"And that is why there is no strength in the race of Men," Boromir said to the group. "So it is Isildur's fault then? If he had not been so corrupted by the Ring then we would all be back in our homes instead of on the side of this river running from the enemy." Sam said bitterly, the rest of the Hobbits nodding their heads yes along with Boromir, Gimli and Legolas. Aragorn stood abruptly and wandered more like stormed off from the group, his plate of food neglected.

Eleniel shook her head before glaring at them all. "Do not say that Boromir. There is strength still and always has been in the race of Men." She snapped at the now surprised man. "The actions of one does not define a whole race, does it? Look at Gimli and Legolas, they have overcome the problems their races have with each other and now have built a relationship on a common ground."

"You are all so quick to condemn the actions and lack of strength of Isildur that you all forget that the man that you all have chosen as your leader is a descendant of Isildur himself." She said sharply, the group looked rather sheepishly at the direction the man had stormed in. "The man that led you all to Lothlórien and safety. The man that you all turn to for strength to keep going."

"Isildur's actions were indeed foolish but, do not be so quick to condemn his lack in strength when no one but Frodo here has actually carried the Ring," She said. "Only he can talk of his lack of strength as he has resisted the Ring thus long. And while Aragorn is his descendant, I don't think any of you can speak of his lack of strength since I'm sure that his actions have saved your lives many of times. Wasn't it Aragorn that came to your aid when you were being pursued by the Nazgul, Master Gamgee?" The Hobbits immediately looked sheepish but she did not care at the moment.

Eleniel sighed sadly at the now silent and ashamed group. Standing, she walked away from them without so much as another word in search of a certain ranger.

Aragorn wasn't sure why he was so surprised. He knew that his ancestry and past would always come back to haunt him. He kept walking, his mind not taking in his surroundings which is why he didn't notice the sound of crunching leaves behind him until he heard her voice.

She called out to him before he found her delicate hand touching his own. Turning towards him, he kept his eyes trained to the ground. He did not want to look at her and find the pity that his Ada would always look at him with whenever he'd find him standing in front of the shards of Narsil. Eleniel spoke his name again before sighing when he once again did not respond. Lifting her hands up to his face, she gently cupped his cheeks before lifting his head til she could see into his clear blue eyes. He found no pity in her eyes. Only a certain level of compassion and warmth with a bright smile on her face.

Sighing, he pulled her hands from his face before turning away from her. "Estel, what is it that bothers you?" She asked him, moving next to him.

"They are right. Things would be better if Isildur had destroyed the ring." Eleniel agreed with him, she was not going to lie to him for he spoke the truth.

"Yes but, that is something that we cannot change now. There is no need to think of the past Estel, only the future can be determined now." She told him reaching for him again only for him to evade her. She let her hands fall back down to her sides and kept them there. "And I know that when the Ring does tempt you that you will rise above Sauron and be victorious."

"I-I think that the others should travel on without me," she shook her head at his words and went to speak but he cut her off. "I am a liability and despite your words, we do not know if I will be able to resist the Ring."

Not being able to take much more of this sad talk, Eleniel stepped in front him to stop him from moving any further and took his hands into her own before pressing a soft kiss onto his hands. "Do not speak such words. You may share his blood Estel but you are not Isildur." Removing one of her hands from around his, she briefly caressed the jewel around his neck. "You are not bound to share his fate."

His eyes gazed at her softly before he drew her softly into his arms and pressed a kiss to her cheek. He did not say if he believed her words or not but he did turn back the way they had left so she took it as a good sign. They were walking in a comfortable silence when they heard the sound of a loud horn being blown. Momentarily confused, they both looked at each other until it clicked.

Boromir.

I've been sooooo busy this week so a little late with the chapter. As you can see, things have progressed and now we are almost up to splitting of the Fellowship. I don't even know how this is going to turn out but hopefully it's good! Anyways reactions to what has been happening so far? So they're travelling now and have now gotten up to the part where they are found by the Uruk Khai. Who else cries when Boromir dies? Also yes, I know that I have skipped a lot of their journey while they're travelling down the river but a lot of the drama came from Boromir arguing with Aragorn that they should go to Minas Tirith but since he knows that's a bad idea, there would be no argument although I did add the bit about her quest and Isildur.