Chapter One

Rangers

Aranel woke with a start; she had been having the same dream for weeks. Every night the same thing, Haldir's death at Helm's Deep.

It had been over a year since that fateful day when a number of elves and men gave their lives to stop Saruman's forces. At the time she was worried that Haldir hadn't returned to Lothlorien with the others, but she had pushed the thought of anything happening to him out of her mind.

He's probably seeing how Aragorn and Legolas are. She had thought. But when the day came that the other warriors returned to Lorien and Haldir was not with them, she feared for the worst. Lady Galadriel had summoned her the next day and made Aranel's worst fears a reality.

"He has passed into shadow," Galadriel said. "I have looked for him in the mirror, but he cannot be found." The tidings which Lady Galadriel had brought were as if all the evil of Mordor were released into Middle-Earth and the city of Minas Tirith had been torn to the ground.

For days, Aranel had stayed locked in her room. Weeping the days away, and singing herself to sleep with a lament for Haldir at night. She hadn't eaten for days until Lord Celeborn ordered the healers to do all in their power to help her overcome her grief.

A year later, anyone looking from the outside in would think that she had fully gotten over Haldir's death. But every elf in Lothlorien, which had not sailed to the west, knew that she would never be the same again.

Right now she was on her way to Gondor; Lady Galadriel had looked in her mirror and saw that trouble was brewing in Minas Morgul. She wanted to be sure so she sent Aranel to find Faramir and discover what the Witch-King might be planning.

Over the past year, while she was healing, Aranel had trained to become a ranger with all the time she had. She knew it was all that she could do since she could not bear to stay in the Golden Wood if Haldir was not there. Once Galadriel had heard about this, she had kept an eye on Aranel, knowing that she might need her skills if something happened.

Aranel had accepted this mission with gratitude, for Galadriel knew that Aranel needed to be away from Lothlorien for awhile. So as soon as she could, Aranel set off for Gondor, taking the river down until she passed Rohan, then setting off by foot. It would take her a few days to reach Gondor but she knew that she would be able to get to the ranger's encampment in about three days.

Two days had already gone by with excellent results. She had made it passed Rohan on the river the first day (because the currents were swifter than usual) and had started out on foot the morning of the second day. And by mid morning, she had skirted past the boundaries of the dead marshes and passed into North Ithilien. Now all she had to do was find Faramir and his rangers and see what in the name of the Valar was going on.

As she started out in the morning (of the third day) she quickened her pace to a brisk trot. Sensing that it was too quiet, she decided to try to lighten the mood of the forest and her latest nightmare by singing one of the tales of old she had learned as a child. It took her only a moment to decide what to sing, for when she looked to the Southeast she saw the borders of Mordor, where the Last Alliance of men and elves gave their lives so many years ago.

With a sigh, Aranel started to sing in a soft voice, so as not to awaken any evil that might be listening.

"Gil-galad was an elven king.

of him the harpers sadly sing:

the last whose realm was fair and free

between the mountains and the sea

His sword was long, his lance was keen,

his shining helm afar was seen;

the countless stars of heaven's field

were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,

and where he dwelleth none can say;

for into darkness fell his star

in Mordor where the shadows are."

When she had finished, she noticed that the forest wasn't as quiet as it had been and that she wasn't alone. Sensing that someone was coming, she quickly climbed a nearby tree and waited to see if it was friend or foe. With her elven ears she heard soft footsteps coming towards her and in about a minute she saw four rangers from her spot in the tree.

"I see four but where is the fifth who I heard was coming?" Aranel whispered to herself. Suddenly, as if on cue, she felt a hunting knife slightly poke her right between the shoulder blades. Acting on instinct, she sprung herself from the tree, landing feet first on the ground. Drawing and firing an arrow from her bow so quickly that only elven eyes could have seen the arrow.

The rangers surrounded her immediately, bows drawn ready to fire at any given moment. "Who are you?!" One of the rangers demanded. Fortunately the hood of Aranel's cloak had not fallen down in the process of jumping out of the tree, so her identity was still a secret. The rangers were only acting as they were trained,

"I've got to remember to tell Faramir that his rangers are well trained when I see him. Unfortunately," Aranel thought to herself. "They are no match for an elf."

"I need tell you nothing," she said to the ranger that had shouted at her. One of the rangers brought his bow closer to where he believed her throat to be. "Why are you here?" He asked in a demanding tone.

"I seek Faramir captain of Gondor." Aranel replied. "I have business with him. I bring with me news from the North."

"Then come back with us to our encampment," a voice unseen said. "So that you can tell me what your news is, and so I can get my arm fixed." At that moment, the rangers lowered their bows and Aranel stared in amazement as Faramir stepped out from behind the tree. Her arrow had gone straight through his left vambrace, grazing his arm.

AN: Yay!!! ok here's chapter one!! hope ya like it, R&R!!! and read on!!