Running through the trees was my favorite part of growing up in Emorani, or the Western Fae Kingdom. This time however was not for fun as Reagan had to so often remind me. Growing up together we were best friends. The two of us were a fantastic fighting pair. Reagan was an expert at using the bow. I had learned the art of the dual blade. I carried them in holsters on my back as Reagan and I ran through the branches. We had been sent on border patrol on the southernmost border of our lands. It had been rumored that orc were running around destroying whatever came in their path.

Orcs had long been our enemies. They often coated their weapons with a poison that would slowly kill their enemies. That poison could kill a fae faster than any other race in Middle Earth. Protecting our borders was crucial to the lives of our people.

Reagan suddenly stopped in front of me. "Let's stop here for the night. We can make it to the border before midday tomorrow."

I nodded in agreement. Together the two of us quickly set up our camp in the high branches of the Sonamin Forest, so named for the Great King Sonamin from three thousand years ago. Our camp was simple: a sturdy tarp that fit in between two of the branches that was tightly tied to them. No fires could be used camping high in the trees as we were. Our cloaks would be more than enough to keep us warm.

"Do you want first watch or should I take it," I asked him as we set up our individual bed rolls.

Reagan finished setting up his and turned to his pack to pull out our dinner. "You can take it. Would you rather have dried venison or dried forest hen?" He turned to face me, smiling. It was a joke we had between the two of us. We often were sent out on patrol together and often received the same food rations.

I laughed shaking my head. "You decide. I'm going to head to the stream and get us some fresh water." With that I grabbed both of our canteens and jumped down to the next level of branches, acrobatically swinging from branch to branch to get myself down to the forest floor. The stream wasn't too far away, but it was quicker to get to it by walking than using the trees. I reached it soon enough and quickly filled our canteens. I paused for a moment to enjoy the quiet of the forest around me. I loved it out here. It was where I felt I belonged the most. I knew I had a few more minutes before Reagan would be expecting me back so I decided to try and practice my gifts. I knew how to use water and control it to help my needs. Earth was an entirely different story. I stood still concentrating on what I wanted to do. The vines hanging from the trees slowly started to move when all of a sudden I heard a twig crack and my concentration was broken. I quickly grabbed the canteens and climbed a few branches up into the trees. I stayed silent watching for what had made the twig break. I waited for about twenty minutes and when nothing came my way I came out of my hiding spot and headed back towards camp.

When I arrived back at camp Reagan was in a fit. "What took so long," he demanded looking me over to make sure I hadn't been in a fight.

I paused. I wasn't sure if what I had heard was real or just a figment of my imagination.

Reagan grabbed my upper arms and lightly shook me to get my attention. "Nissa?"

I sighed, slightly relaxing. Even if I wanted to keep it a secret I knew I wouldn't be able to. Reagan's bright blue piercing eyes could always finagle the truth out of me.

"When I was about to head back here I heard a twig break. With everything that's been going on lately I wanted to be careful. I hid in the trees for awhile to make sure that it wasn't an orc or anything not from our lands. When nothing came by I figured it was safe enough to return."

My answer seemed to satisfy him and he took his canteen back from me. He then returned to prepping our small dinner. While I had been gone he had foraged for some of the local berries that we both enjoyed snacking on. I climbed up to branch that was a few feet above our camp and settled myself in. While I waited for Reagan I thought about him. He had always been my best friend. He looked so much like his father who hated me to no end. He was tall, about five or six inches taller than myself, with very refined facial features, his cheekbones reaching up to the corners of his eyes it seemed. His piercing blue eyes always held a sparkle in them. His smile would spread across his whole face when he was truly happy.

"Lost in your thoughts again, Nissa," he asked waving his hands in front of me with a small smile on his face.

I smiled back. "Only when I think about the Council and the upcoming Ceremony," I replied, lying to him. There was no need for him to know just how much he meant to me. Especially since I would never be allowed to marry. Since I was just a lowly half-blood the Council had forbade me from ever having children to ensure that after my death hundreds of years from now, the blood of Emorani would once again be pure.

"Have they made a decision as to whether you can receive your runes," Reagan asked handing me my dinner and sitting next to me.

I shook my head. "They haven't even told me if I can enter the Games to be considered for them either. I just want to be accepted by everyone for what I've done for the Kingdom, not for the blood that runs in my veins."

Reagan was silent for a few minutes. We could always be like this, enjoying a companionable silence and each others company without having to speak. I had just finished my dinner and was taking a sip from my canteen when Reagan spoke again.

"Nissa, I've been talking to the Council a lot lately."

"I figured you would be. After you receive your runes you'll be stepping into a small leadership position."

"That's not why I've been talking to them. We've been talking about you."

I choked on my water and used the opportunity to catch my breath and control my composure. Once I could breathe easily again I turned to look Reagan in the eye. "What about me," I asked.

"I know the Council had previously made a decision that forbade you from ever marrying but I was able to convince them that if they changed their minds, they would not regret it. I pointed out that you are one of the best fighters we have and all the good you've done for our people despite what happened with your father. I pointed out that you are nothing like him. I also pointed out that should they choose to change their minds they wouldn't have to worry about finding you a suitor that would be willing to marry you because I already found one." Here Reagan paused. I knew he wasn't done so the question I was wanting to ask would have to wait.

"I've also been discussing the Ceremony with them. I told them that you should be able to compete for them, especially since you're one of our best. It's taken some finagling but with the exception of my father they have agreed that it would be in the best interest for the students at the Academy for you to compete. It would show the students that hard work does pay off."

He looked at me and was waiting to see my reaction. I was stunned to be honest. "How did you manage to pull this off," I asked waiting for him to pinch me to tell me that I had been dreaming or something.

"Well, since I will at some point be taking over the Council after my father steps down I told them that even if they said no now, I would reverse their decisions once I was in charge."

I laughed then. "Only you could threaten them Reagan and get away with it," I replied playfully punching him in the arm. He laughed too.

"So this is for real," I asked once our laughter had died down.

Reagan nodded still smiling. I was going to be able to compete for my runes that I would receive in the Grand Ceremony. Runes are only given to the best fighters among our people and with them came a set of armor made by the blacksmith that best suited each individual fae's fighting style.

I was so happy that I almost forgot to ask him my question. "Who did you find to marry me," I asked suddenly getting serious again. I kept my head down, hiding my face so he wouldn't be able to see my disappointment when I found out it would not be him.

Reagan was silent for awhile before he spoke again. "Nissa you're my best friend. I could never imagine spending any part of my life without you any more. You mean so much to me. When I talked to the Council about this, they asked the same question. I told them the same thing I'm going to tell you. I will not marry a fae like my mother. I want a woman by my side who will question my decisions and help me to ensure that they are the best ones for our people because our people deserve the best the Council can give. I told them that the only woman in the Kingdom I would be willing to marry would be you."

My head jerked up almost instantly. I had to be dreaming I was sure of it. But I had to know. "What are you saying, Reagan?"

"Nissa, I love you. No other fae makes my life so enjoyable," he answered using a finger to turn my head towards him so I could look him in the eye.

He was crying a little. His strong, piercing gaze was now a soft look of endearment.

I smiled. Now I knew that Reagan felt the same way about me as I did for him. When a single tear made its way down his cheek I used my thumb to wipe it away, knowing full well that with that one simple gesture Reagan knew I had accepted his proposal.


The next morning Reagan woke me early saying there was a problem that needed to be taken care of. When I looked in the direction he pointed, the direction we were supposed to be heading in an hour, I saw a pillar of black smoke. It could only mean one thing: a raid on the Southern Border Outpost.

We quickly packed up camp and moved out, knowing that there was no time for us to lounge about and eat breakfast. Our pace was hard and fast. We pushed ourselves to the limit knowing that the longer we took to reach the outpost, the more chance there was of orcs getting through into our lands.

Soon enough we could see the burning remnants of the outpost. We had made it there in almost half the time with the pace that we had made. Sure as I was that I needed Reagan in my life, there was a small group of orcs numbering about 20 sifting through the rubble of the outpost, the fae soldiers tied up to a tree nearby. The food supplies had already been loaded into a wagon the orcs had with them. Why they were sifting through the rubble I could not deduce.

I got Reagans attention, and using fae sign language asked him what he wanted to do. He told me that he would start to take out the orcs from a distance using his arrows while I snuck around to the other side of the outpost and attacked them from behind. He would wait until I was in position before starting the ambush.

I nodded and headed off into the trees to circle behind the orcs. Our main goal was to kill all but one orc, then free the other fae and interrogate the remaining orc to find out why they were attacking in our lands. Once I was in position, I drew my blades and signaled to Reagan that I was ready.

Our ambush started smoothly, In fact it had all gone according to plan. Our allies were free and were telling Reagan and I what had happened when all of a sudden one of them had an orc arrow protruding from his eye. Reagan, the other fae and myself were in shock. That was when the second fae we had freed got shot down with an arrow as well. Within moments Reagan and I were fighting for our lives. There had been more orcs hiding past our borders and we were highly outnumbered. I knew that if we could climb into the trees there was a chance we could get away and get reinforcements. But I also knew that Reagan would wait until the last possible second to retreat. I was so engrossed in fighting the orcs that came at me that I hadn't been paying attention to Reagan. While he could fight with a sword, he wasn't the best at it and being in close range didn't give him much space to use his bow. So when I hear him cry out in pain I almost got myself killed turning to see what had happened. One of the larger orcs in the party had stabbed him through the abdomen and just as quickly pulled out his blade. I lost control of myself then. I needed to do everything I could to get to Reagan and give him the herbs that would stave off the poison from the orc weapon and then hurry him back to the city for treatment.

I was a whirling fae cyclone with swords. I attacked with such ferocity that the few orcs remaining after only a couple of minutes took to the hills. I considered going after them but knew that Reagan was more important. I quickly sheathed my weapons and ran to his side.

Falling to my knees next to him I took off my pack and began searching for the life-saving herbs. I didn't notice Reagan's hand on my arm until he yelled my name.

I paused, knowing that his stubbornness was about to cost him his life and there was nothing I could do about it. "Don't bother Nissa, the poison has already reached my heart."

I lost myself then. I gently pulled his head into my lap and held him. We talked about our favorite memories that we had together until his eyes closed. I leaned my head down to his chest to check for a heartbeat. When I heard nothing, I began to cry all over again.

I had just lost the only friend I had in this world because I had not been fighting at his side.


I awoke the next morning to Bofur gently prodding me. It was just barely dawn and most of the rest of our company was still asleep, Thorin included.

I smiled at Bofur silently thanking him. I instantly knew that he had woken me early so as to help me get into Thorin's good graces. And while I knew that it would take more than waking up early and helping to saddle the ponies, I appreciated that Bofur seemed willing enough to help me so that I could stay around. Looking to the east, I sighed remembering what I had dreamed about. That night had been the last good night I'd had in weeks, months even. All I wanted was to find a new home far enough away from Emorani that the Council would be satisfied and start my life anew. But I knew that it would be impossible to accomplish this until Thorin was satisfied that I was not a threat to him.

This was going to be one long adventure…..