Upon coming back to my grandparents' house, I was bombarded with the smell of fresh bread and rosemary. My grandmother turned out to be an exceptional cook, serving buttered bread, quail seasoned with rosemary, and a wonderful apple pie. I thanked her profusely for the meal and retired to bed early, more than ready to sleep on a real bed.

In the morning, I rose and donned another black dress. I must confess, I was a little tired of wearing such a dark and dreary color; although I had been exempt from wearing black on the journey for need of more blending clothing, I was already tired of it. I sighed and took my cloak from the end of my bed, grabbed my book, and ate breakfast quickly before heading for the gardens of the Last Homely House once again.

As I arrived in the gardens, I was met with a surprise. Two identical elves were sitting on benches, one sharpening his sword and the other fighting some invisible opponent. I was not yet in the garden, and out of sight, so I turned back toward the house. I've finally found my sword lessons, I do believe, I thought. Changing clothing, but still maintaining my mandatory black theme, I pulled up my hair and fetched my father's sword. Hooking it to my belt, I donned my cloak once more and headed for the gardens.

I arrived at the gardens slightly out of breath from running most of the way, and stopped to regain my composure. Walking calmly into the garden, I saw that the two elves were still present, and had been joined by a Man, who was now engaged in mock combat with one of the others. I shed my cloak and casually walked over to their group.

"This seems to be quite the place to practice," I noted. The three turned and bowed respectfully. I curtsied as best I could in my wraparound fighting skirt, maneuvering my sword around to manage. As I looked back upon them, I saw wonder on their faces.

"If I may be so bold, what puzzles you so, my lords?" I inquired calmly. One of the elves shook his head in bewilderment.

"We have not seen a lady wield any weapon save a broom or frying pan in many years, milady," said the human.

"I traveled here from Mirkwood, and knowledge of weaponry was necessary on our journey." I replied. A look of understanding passed over their faces, and then another look of astonishment. I raised a brow curiously.

"You would have had to come with Prince Legolas if you hail from Mirkwood, milady!" said one of the elves.

The other then added, "The guards say that the only elleth to ride with them was the daughter of a great warrior, carrying her father's own sword and brandishing it with a greater strength than he!"

I smiled dryly. "I do not know about his being a fearsome warrior, but my father was a guard for many years in times of trouble for the kingdom. I was given his sword when he faded of orc poisoning." As an afterthought, I stated, "And I know I do not brandish my father's sword with great strength. I only had three days to learn how to fight before I was sent here." At this statement, the two elves launched into a request to instruct me in swordplay. Laughing, I silenced them long enough to accept their requests.

"But, before you start again, I think I should know the names of my mentors," I said wryly.

With exaggerated bows, the two elves introduced themselves as Elladan and Elrohir, sons of Lord Elrond Peredhil. The man, with a much more polite bow, introduced himself as Aragorn, a ranger from the North.

"Well, I am Lady Caladhiel Faeroniel, daughter of Lord Faeron Tegaladion. But you can call me Cala if you wish." With that, a new friendship formed.

I had been practicing for only a few days when a new member of our sparring group was introduced. Elladan had just beat me to a pulp when clapping came from the entrance of the gardens. A small elleth with blue-black hair and seafoam green eyes was standing there with a bemused look on her face and a machete strapped to her back.

"Not bad," she commented as she approached us. "Your footwork needs improvement, but you're not bad at all. Tell me, what is your name?"

I was startled by her sudden appearance, but answered, "Caladhiel."

"Well, I am Captain Marluciel, jack of all trades, sword genius, Elladan-butt-kicker and I make a mean batch of eggs." She grinned at me as she swept into an exaggerated bow. "But please, call me Marley."

I smiled. "Then call me Cala."

I escaped to the gardens each day for my lessons, where I would meet with at least one of the four 'instructors.' Usually, Elrohir and Marley would be there, but Aragorn and Elladan sometimes filled in or helped out. There were a few occasions when all four were present. One of these days, my seventh lesson, in fact, I was fighting both Elladan and Elrohir, testing myself to see if my hurriedly learned skills from Randir were still intact.

"Elbereth! You two never give up, do you?" I puffed out in between blocks. A Chorus of no's rang out in the small garden from my two opponents, Aragorn, and Marley, the latter two who watched from a nearby bench. I twisted and turned, but could not manage to attack either of the brothers. As soon as I tried to move my position, one of the two would move to block me from escaping. Concentrating on finding an opening in their ever-present wall, I narrowly missed a sideswipe from who I think was Elladan; the two were impossible to tell apart at times. I dashed away at the last minute and managed to find myself next to a tree. I wasted no time in climbing said tree, and watched as Elladan and Elrohir stood underneath me and looked up impatiently.

"What was that?" one asked incredulously.

"What was what?" I replied innocently. "You two were trying and nearly succeeding in killing me, so I did what any rational elf would do and climbed a tree."

"And how do you plan on getting down? We now guard the bottom."

"Like this." I replied. I climbed down just a little, to an area of the tree that was relatively free of leaves due to the oncoming winter season, and jumped. Performing a nice back flip, I landed behind the two startled elves and promptly disarmed them. As I positioned my blade at the throat of Elrohir and placed my foot solidly on the chest of Elladan, I heard applause from behind me. I hauled both of the thoroughly embarrassed elves off the ground and turned to the praise. Standing by Aragorn and Marley with an amused look on his face was a tall, fair-haired elf that radiated authority. I curtsied graciously at the approval and the elf.

"I was coming to inform the twins that they missed breakfast, but I think the cause of their absence was more than proper." He laughed. "No one has beaten them in a duel in far too long. Oh, but forgive me, I forget my manners. I am Lord Glorfindel." I stifled a gasp and curtsied deeply to the fabled Balrog-slayer, one of the last survivors of the siege of Gondolin.

"I am Lady Caladhiel of Mirkwood, my lord."

"Ah, the daughter of Faeron Tegaladion. He was a truly noble man, milady. It was distressing to learn of his fate."

"Thank you, Lord Glorfindel. I was not aware my father was so well known."

"I knew your father when he was but an elfling; I kept up with him as the years passed." He paused, thoughtful. "You truly are your father's daughter, though, to handle a sword as you do. Your form is not without error, but it is certainly noteworthy. Who was your teacher?"

"My brother, Randir, taught me for the three days before my departure from Mirkwood, but I have had no formal training." I admitted.

"Remarkable," Lord Glorfindel murmured. He turned to the twins, remembering his purpose, and informed them that their father wanted an explanation to their lack of appearance. He then bowed and took his leave. Elladan and Elrohir followed after. Aragorn excused himself soon after, and Marley informed me that she wanted to figure out what Glorfindel had wanted with the twins. I packed up and walked back to what I now called my home.

As the days passed, my swordsmanship improved greatly. Elladan had noted on more than one occasion that I was beginning to live up to my reputation, and Aragorn, Elrohir, and Marley agreed, although I was unconvinced. As the winter cold slowly diminished to make way for warmer weather, talk of an archery and swordsmanship contest to celebrate the coming of spring came up frequently during our lessons.

"Cala, why don't you enter?" asked Aragorn nonchalantly while Elladan, Elrohir, he and I were sitting around trying to recover from my lesson one day- Marley had guard duty that week and was patrolling the borders. I looked at him in a blank look that soon turned into a skeptical expression.

"Honestly, Aragorn, I probably wouldn't make it past the second round," I protested.

"Ah, but you do admit that you could easily pass the first round," Elrohir jested.

"Hold your tongue," I snapped. Then, turning back to Aragorn, I reasoned, "I suppose I could enter, if they will let an elleth compete."

"How could they not let you participate? You have more skill than many of the young lords your age that usually compete. I do not think that your femininity would prohibit you," Aragorn argued. I sighed and agreed to enter. Elladan and Elrohir smiled in excitement, reminding me of young elflings, and rushed off to submit their and my entries. I took that as a dismissal from lessons and went home for dinner.