Disclaimer: Same as any other chapter.

A/N: Heads up everybody! Chapter 33 did not turn out the way I would have liked it to, so I went back and rewrote bits and pieces of it. And for those of you who are wondering, I did NOT fall off of the face of the earth. I simply took a break from writing for a little while. But I'm back again!

Many thanks to...

Jessfairy88, Imamc, Amy0Veronica, 1 fan of pj . hp . lotrh . con . ra, sweetheartcat5, Eragon, LilactheDryad, Guest, Jyll, nadaus . severine 2110

Normally I would at a little note to everyone's usernames, but I'm sure most of you would like me to skip this and get to the story... so here we go!

"Shouldn't she be waking up soon?"

"She will wake when she feels like she should, Master Hobbit.', Elladan murmured patiently, trying not to roll his eyes as the halfling gave an over exaggerated huff of impatience, when really it should have been Elladan who did so.

"Riley must be awful hungry. I know I was, and I didn't even sleep as long as Riley!', Merry exclaimed worriedly, gazing at the elleth who laid comfortably on the bed beside him.

"Hobbits are resilient creatures, Merry. And while elves normally heal quickly, Rielásse will have more trouble then most in getting back on her feet. She may not feel like eating anything after she wakes up.', Aragorn reminded as he walked into the room, a small grin on his face as he saw the long-suffering look plastered on Elladan's face. He supposed it was better than the harried look that both of the twins had worn over the past two days; it was wonderful to see something other than concern etched into their faces.

When the battle had been won there had been no time for celebration. Many had fallen under the Black Breath, the plague that was spread by those who came into contact with the Nazgûl, and those who had been stricken with it had included Merry, Éowyn, and Faramir, who was the brother of Boromir. Aragorn had needed the twins and his kinsmen by his side to help him heal those who had fallen under the malady, their vigil lasting into the late watches of the night.

It was because of this that none of them could retrieve Riley from the ships, for they were much needed in the Houses of Healing. Rather than leave her there, knowing she would most likely fret, they had sent a messenger to retrieve her— though they certainly had not expected the lad to return with Riley in his arms. The young man was wise enough to have brought her to Ioreth, the woman in charge of the houses, even if he had been under the impression that she had also become ill with the Black Breath, when rather, she had been harrowingly close to fading.

The twins had been frantic at first, blaming themselves for leaving her alone in the fragile mental state she had been in. But their demeanors soon changed to one of determination, and they had managed to call their sister's fëa back into a healthier state, much to their friends relief. As of now, the twins were taking turns sitting with their sister, dealing with two impatient hobbits— Pippin and Merry— at the same time.

"She's waking up!', Pippin cried excitedly, wriggling down from his perch in the window to scramble over to Riley's side. Elladan straightened slightly, eyeing the hobbit as if he were trying to decided whether this was another false alarm, when his sister did indeed wake up.

"Why do I feel like I've been hit by a bus?', I grumbled, opening my eyes and staring at the ceiling as I did so: a very different ceiling than I had fallen asleep under.

"What is a bus?"

"Pippin.', I heard Aragorn say, the warning in his tone evident. I squirmed, struggling to sit up and failing miserably in the matter. Instead, I ended up staring at the ceiling again, wondering where the heck I had ended up at. I had a feeling it was somewhere in Minas Tirith, seeing as how Pippin was here.

"Do not exhaust yourself, penneth. You are still weak." Elladan's face appeared above me, an understanding smile on his lips as he brushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"Weak?', I squeaked. "Weak from what?"

He gave a low chuckle, ignoring my question as he gave me a pat on the shoulder and stood.

"Will no one tell me what is going on?', I asked as I heard my brother exit the room.

"When your strength returns we will speak more of the matter."

"Aragorn?', I said uncertainly. "Do you know how difficult it is to have a conversation when you can't see the person you're talking to?"

The ranger laughed, and I heard his footsteps drawing close before he came into my line of vision.

"Is this better?', he inquired with a teasing voice.

"Much.', I muttered. "So... wanna tell me what's up? Starting by where I am?"

"You are in Minas Tirith.', Pippin said, though I couldn't see exactly where he was standing at— or even if he was standing at all. "In the Houses of Healing."

"What did I do this time?', I groaned, lifting one of my heavy-feeling arms to rub my forehead. "Nothing stupid I hope."

Aragorn grinned down at me as he shook his head.

"No, I do not think that what happened was your fault."

"Good.', I huffed. An ear splitting yawn that came from my mouth made him chuckle again, and he directed Pippin and Merry to leave the room so I could rest.

"So...', I tried again. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Perhaps after you rest for a little longer. You can barely stay awake as it is."

"But I am not tired..." Another yawn cut me off.

"We both know that is not true.', Aragorn chided, giving me a humor-filled look. "Rest, Riley. I will be back in a few hours."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I WAS FADING?! DIDN'T YOU THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD?"

Legolas paused outside the door, wincing as he heard Riley shout at her brothers and Aragorn, who had been closeted in the room with her for the past hour. Those in the fellowship had constantly checked in with Riley while she had been asleep, though Legolas had not seen her since she had woken up, having had no desire to face her ire which was likely to be directed at him for the foolish argument he had started when he had last seen her.

"Riley, we all assumed you knew.', Elrohir began, his voice soothing as he tried to calm her down.

"Why would you assume that?', she inquired accusingly, her voice only slightly lower than it had been. "This entire thing is still new to me! I've never had an elven fëa before— I don't know how it works!"

"Then we will teach you.', he heard Elladan answer carefully, apparently trying to avoid another shouting match. There was a pause from the other side of the door, and Legolas jumped in surprise as the entryway opened, revealing a grinning Elrohir.

"You should have come in instead of eavesdropping, mellon nin.', the dark-haired elf remarked laughingly. Over the past several days the twins had come to forgive Legolas for his bout of foolishness on the ship, though he was hesitant to enter the room for fear that Riley would not have done the same. He did not have the time to decide whether to enter or not, for Elrohir dragged him inside after him.

The silvan elf gulped as Riley's face appeared behind Aragorn. This did not look to be a happy confrontation.

A/N: Sorry for the really short chapter! This was a really awkward place to stop, but I feel like I will be able to write the next chapter better if I stop here.