Hooray the next chapter (: I had an American exchange partner here for the last 10 days so I didn't really write, sorry but it was just too much fun :D I hope it improved my English a bit… It will when I go to the US in September (: Already excited :D

Caleb's babe: thanks again! yeah I thought that could be a bit confusing, I mentioned it but maybe it didn't come out clear enough that they were both sent to Rivendell but only Aragorn stayed there permanently and his sister was sent to Lothlorien shortly after. That seems weird but firstly I thought that it's more likely for a girl to grow up with a foster-mother and secondly it comes in handy later in the story ;) I hope that cleared up the confusion (:

ZollySealand: ich antworte dir auch in Deutsch das ist für mich auch einfacher :D Danke und phew ich bin echt erleichtert, dass Elenya keine Mary Sue ist, weil ich nicht weiß ob ich das unbedingt direkt merken würde :D In diesem Kapitel wird es auf jeden Fall weiter mit der Geschichte an sich gehen ;)

Sic Vita Est: Thanks so much (: It's good to hear that I managed to get this feeling into the story, because I'm not really experienced with serious stories (:

Enjoy (:

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Chapter 3:

Elenya did not rest for longer than a few hours every day for the next weeks. She was too occupied in traveling back and forth between the camps along the Shire's border to support the rangers who were stationed there and the main village where almost the whole rest of the Dúnadain lived. She would have preferred staying at the borders to directly defend the hobbits, it was the closest to freedom that she could get in these dark times. For her now to be forced to spend hours in dark rooms contemplating how much supplies the village would need for the next time, who was supposed to work on what or plans for new buildings was tiring her more than staying up for days on her horse could.

She had been riding fast, almost injuring her horse, when she had heard that one station which was held by one of her cousins and his men was attacked and the rangers were easily outnumbered. Arriving at the camp of a few huts she had nearly two hours to rest before the next attack began. They had been able to fend off the orcs which had been bothering them for a long time now but as the time grew darker wild men had started to roam around and had already destroyed villages not far away. Orcs they were able to defeat but their numbers were too small to have the slightest chance against their new foes without help. The morning they saw the cruel men roaming around not far away, clearly spying on how they could overcome the camp of rangers the easiest, they had sent their fastest rider out to call for help. They did not have to wait long for Elenya and her usual group of fighters had arrived shortly before the sun rose the next day.

After the newly arrived had been fed and had only for a second lain down to rest their tired bodies they heard a warning horn from outside, blown by one of the guards who were patrolling all day and all night. Abruptly the light sound halted followed by an eerie silence.

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They had been fighting for hours, their opponents had seemed to never end. Every time they had killed one a new one had appeared in his place. Elenya used the back of her hand to wipe her hair out of her eyes, it had started to come undone out of the tight bun she always wore in battles and was now stuck to her forehead with dirt, sweat and blood. She was exhausted and dirty, blood covering her clothes. She could not tell if it was hers or that of her foes anymore for she had several cuts and injuries that multiplied over time as her reaction time slowed down. As dawn began they had managed to defeat their enemies for they drew their strength through the dark, overcoming their opponents when they did not notice, coming out of the shadows to attack people from behind.

They had fortunately not lost many men though most were injured badly almost not able to keep themselves upright anymore. Those who were only hurt lightly needed to tend to their comrades till their own exhaustion overtook their minds making them unable to stand. After Elenya had taped up the last man she knew that she had to change something. If she would not find a new solution she would lead her people to their doom. After she had pondered for many hours she finally realized what she needed to do. Having found new hope she lay down to find some rest before she needed to rise again and put her plan to action.

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It was a slow procession back to their home. It took them many days to transport the wounded and weak when on a fast horse it would take only about two days to cross the distance. When they arrived Elenya saw that in the short time span she had been gone their village had suffered from attacks as well. It took not much effort to convince the eldest who had helped her to lead the Dúnadain for the few weeks she did. It took them not long to prepare. Only a day after the last were able to ride or be transported they set out on their journey, the strongest left behind to keep the protection of the Shire intact.

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She had seen their arrival before the border guard informed her of them, Galadriel had known that her foster-daughter would sooner or later have to search for Lothlorien help so they had prepared for the rangers arrival weeks before. The Dúnadain were welcomed as soon as they crossed the border of the wood and led to rest and be healed from their wounds. Elenya however did not settle down after she had lead her companions to their new home, she immediately made her way to the heart of Lothlorien to see Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn.

"Lalaith" the Dúnadan's light eyes darkened to a stormy grey in sadness hearing her old name "do not feel guilty, you made the best decision for your people, you did not fail in your task. And your presence here will be of great importance" The elleth who had been like a mother to her as she grew up had always been able to see her fears and thoughts and knew how to sooth those. "Will we be allowed to stay here until we find a new solution?" Elenya asked, her eyes downcast her poise tired and defeated. "Of course you will, child. This is your home and a safe haven for those who are in your heart." Her foster-mother reassured her, finally sending the woman to clean up, eat and go to sleep, for she was almost asleep standing up.

It was a strange feeling for Elenya to be dressed in silken elven gowns again after many years. Over time she had grown accustomed to wearing the clothes of a ranger, to smelling of horses and long days without a bath. Now being scrubbed clean, her wavy hair openly falling down and wearing a fine dress she felt uncomfortable. Those things belonged to her old self, the old Elenya who had been able to be happy about something as simple as a dress or a trinket. The young woman who had laughed until her stomach was hurting, who had been running around the golden woods of Lórien looking forward to a bright future. Now that girl seemed to be lost through the darkness that grew over middle-earth. Her laugh had died, her hair was kept in a tight braid, her eyes were so deep most were not able to detect any feelings at all. People had started to keep away from her, for they were not able to hold her stare anymore or were not able to see her face destroyed and her cheer gone. They loved her, no doubt, but this love was now shown through respect from afar and acceptance of her need of loneliness. Those who still stood in front of her without looking away or being anxious were few but the most important to her. Most were of elven kind who had seen many things over their long immortal lives and were not fooled by Elenya's mask of deadness. Her brother still stood at her side, Gandalf and some others too but the list had grown shorter and shorter the more she closed herself up.

As she was standing in front of a polished silver sheet observing her appearance she could not help but smile bitterly at the sight of her new self in the mantle of her old self. There had not been time to really see her reflection in a long time, seeing her scar was surprising her. She had felt it many times, she knew its exact position for it still hurt every minute, seeing the flaming pink scar tissue shocked her and made her understand how people reacted like they did. After tracing it once again she turned away with a shake of her head. She had accepted her new face a long time ago, though that did not mean that she did not feel ashamed to show her face, to let people see what had become of her through this war. At last she shook her head clear off those thought that had been piling up in her head more and more over the last weeks after she had seen her brother Aragorn for, as she thought, the last time. Even though she was safe in her foster-parents realm she knew that she would not be resting in this dream world when others fought and fell.

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Elenya spent the following days catching up with those with whom she grew up her nearly 50 years ago, she visited her people in their camps, making sure that they had everything they needed. After she had spent almost a week there she could not stay still anymore, she rode out to check on the Shire's guards and came every time she came back she was in a worse condition that how she had left, sometimes bringing wounded men with her but they all rode out again as soon as they were able to.

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Seems like my chapters always end up different from what I want them to be… this should have been longer for example :D But I want to update something now and it would probably take me longer to extend this chapter than start a new one… somehow :D

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it and Review please ;)