Author's Note (Anon E. Mus): PLEASE FORGIVE ME!! My university semester is about to end, and my tutors have piled dozens of assignments on me that I can't ignore. I've wanted to write this, trust me, but I've had no choice (well, I don't want to fail my first semester at uni) but to continue the endless checklist of assignments. And so much for a week off before exams- ha! Everybody else got it, but not people in my course.worse yet, I have become really sick with flu (still bedridden, but I can't sleep, so I'm endeavouring to finish this), and I had to defer my last exam, so Chapter 20 might be another couple of weeks in the coming. But in the meantime, I'm sure Bride of Legolas will amuse you with Chapter 19 in a few days after I've posted this. To make up for the long wait in between updated chapters, I've made this chapter as long as I can. Anyhow, here it is. *************************

I made it as far as Glorfindel's tent before things once again didn't go the way I wanted them to. Glorfindel emerged from his tent at the same time I was about to move the tent flap. He inclined his head politely.

"Lady Anórmír," he said.

"Glorfindel," I replied hesitantly. "Do you know where my sister is?"

"Aye, she sleeps within," Glorfindel gestured to his tent. "I would not have her disturbed, as she is greatly in need of rest. It has been a full day for her, so to speak." I blushed slightly, thinking of the day's events, understanding completely. "But she is well, since I gather that is what you came here for." I smiled.

"Yes. Can I look in on her?"

"No. Later, perhaps, but not now. Come, if you are here, the High King must have made his peace with you and thus I am needed elsewhere and you are required in the main pavilion. Come." He put a hand behind my back and propelled me along with him, to my further irritation. I'd had no intention of disturbing my Elf-sister, just to look in and see that she was alright.

I also began to wonder how was it that Rhiannon had all the luck; how many times had she slept in Glorfindel's tent now? I'd only been granted that pleasure once – excluding the time I visited Ereinion in his own tent once at night. Of course, the invitation had been there for me to stay that night, but my plans didn't follow the High King's wishes and I remain content with my actions that night. Eventually Glorfindel left me to finish the walk to the tent that served as a conference room and I was rather disappointed to find no one there, but I knew Ereinion Gil-galad would return for me eventually.

I admit, I was rather smug at that thought. However, with no one to distract me, my task was made easier. Writing is something that requires One's full attention, lest bits and pieces be left out. I looked up as Gil-galad and his retinue of advisors and captains entered the pavilion, but aside from a meeting Ereinion's smile with a small shy grin of my own, I did not acknowledge them. After that, my concentration waned somewhat. I couldn't seem to remember exactly what had happened and I found myself crossing things out constantly until I threw down the pen in disgust and gave up. I didn't know what time it was, but I got up anyway.

The Elves and Men were still chattering away and gesturing over sheets of parchment with things written on that I couldn't see. But I was tired emotionally, physically and mentally; and I couldn't concentrate on writing, my thoughts distracted by Ereinion nearby. I glanced over to where Ereinion stood with his fellows, his concentration not on me in the least, but I could still feel the blush on my cheeks as I thought of him; tall, handsome, and just all round hot damn.

I slipped out of the tent, unnoticed by all except for the guards who still stood in place. I walked slowly and listlessly to Glorfindel's tent, checking Rhiannon's well being for myself. Though I trust Glorfindel, he hadn't let me in to see her before and well...seeing is believing, as they say. After sometime of sitting there in the relative silence where the only noise the sound of Rhiannon snoring lightly, I made my way to my own tent and lay down on my bed of blankets, hands behind my head, eyes closed, thinking – well, dreaming really. It was such a nice dream too. I don't think I need to tell you who featured predominantly in that deliciously wonderful fantasy.

It was just when something occurred to me, that I felt the late afternoon sun's light upon me, and I opened my eyes and looked to the person who had just entered. Ereinion.

Who else would it have been?

He knelt beside my 'bed', looking down at me with his deep blue eyes. I couldn't help smiling. He was – IS – so beautiful... for a moment, the worries and concerns of the current situation were gone and the war couldn't touch us...not there, not then. I lost myself in that moment, in his eyes. So much his eyes reflected; timeless wisdom, sorrow, but most of all Love. But then he shifted his head to watch as his hand wandered up to the bottom of my tunic, a grin slowly growing on his ageless face. I lay still, my smile becoming somewhat more 'wicked'.

As he withdrew his hand from beneath my tunic and made to untie my belt to allow him more freedom to roam, I pounced. Literally. I quickly sat up, grabbed his hands and jumped on him. I couldn't help giggling at the stunned expression that briefly flashed across his face, even as his eyes spoke of his amusement and delight. He was smiling appreciatively now and clearly enjoying this whole situation as much as I.

That could be because I was now straddling him.

I made a show of looking him over. "My Lord, we seem to be in a precarious position here," I remarked mildly.

He grinned, wresting his arms back from my grip around his wrists, and pulled me down closer as he whispered, "I rather thought we were practising."

"Practising?" I raised an eyebrow. He pulled me ever closer, until our noses were almost touching.

"For the next time we have the terrible misfortune to be affected by the chocolate." I let him kiss me, enjoying the sensation of adrenaline rushing through my veins and making my heart beat rapidly. "Mmmmmmm," Ereinion moaned softly into my mouth before letting me breathe again. He closed his eyes in rapture.

"Ereinion," I whispered seductively, having remembered my thoughts from before. How I managed to gain control of my mind, I don't know, because my head was reeling.

"Hmmm?"

"How did you know about the undergarments in my bag?" There was silence for a second, as Ereinion opened his eyes and peered up at me.

"Can not we discuss this later?"

"If I have to wait, I may forget, and I'm really very curious." Ereinion sighed and turned me around so he could lay with my back against him, his arms firmly circling my waist.

"You did not think the Elves would be so foolish as to leave you with a bag that might have contained weapons within the presence of their king?"

"I was rather surprised by that," I commented, waiting expectantly for more explanation, but suddenly the implications hit me. "Who checked my bag?"

"You need not fear, Anórmír," Ereinion placated gently. "I was the one to ensure that your bag contained nothing of harm. I was much puzzled by what you had brought with you, but I understand now that those items were not of your own choosing."

I suspected there was more to that comment, and I turned my head to study his face as best I could in my position. Even his face reflected that there seemed to be more, as something like amusement crossed his beautiful features.

"What?" I asked suspiciously. His raised his eyebrows at me, trying to seem innocent.

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing."

"Your whole demeanour at this time indicates that it is clearly not 'nothing'," I replied pointedly.

"Anórmír," he began, trying to avoid the issue.

"Don't give me that," I interrupted firmly. "What were you thinking?"

"It is none of your concern," Ereinion answered sternly. I smirked, settling back down in false obedience, innocently lifting my arms above my head, and into position, where I could best achieve my aim. I'm sure he suspected me of something by then, but I don't think he was ready for it when I started stroking his ear, feeling the shivers run up and done his body involuntarily. I have to give him credit.

His restraint to my taunting torture was far greater than I'd given him credit for. He lasted several minutes in silence, unable to get away before he let out an explosive breath and panted, "Anórmír." He paused to throw his head back, but I didn't stop.

"Yes?" I said, innocently as if I didn't know what he wanted to say.

"Anórmír, if you do not cease your actions, I will be forced...to..." He twisted his eyes shut and took several deep breaths.

"You were saying?" My answer came in the form of Ereinion turning the tables; now I was lying back to the floor and he kneeled over me. He panted, unable to find words from his passion-riddled brain. He bent down and kissed me again.

But something was different that time.

I felt something within my head...in my mind, 'Anórmír...' I gasped but Ereinion would not let me withdraw from our embrace, and I drew what breath I could from the kiss.

'Ereinion! What...!?'

'Shhh...' his mind-voice soothed. 'It is alright, my Anórmír. There is nothing wrong.'

Nothing wrong!! I was in a blind state of panic, and I couldn't get air to my lungs fast enough to cope with it. I felt Ereinion's mind exploring my own, felt his mind probed about until he found what he was looking, and then something was changed within me. But I didn't understand. When he ended the kiss, I lay panting heavily, confused and dizzy. He kissed me again, softly and quickly this time.

"Be calm, Anórmír," he said gently as he stroked my hair. "It is alright." I was half aware of tears, falling down my cheeks.

"What happened?"

 'Our minds are linked, Anórmír. As our Hearts have been since we first saw one another.' His voice spoke in my mind. I smiled, and let out a relieved giggle. "Next time that you decide to do something like that, give me some warning," I advised.

The sun was lowering in the west when Gil-galad led me to the dining pavilion of the Elves. Glorfindel and Gildor sat at a wooden table in a corner, and Ereinion guided me over to them.
"My Lord Gil-galad, Lady Anórmír," Gildor inclined his head politely as we approached.
"I trust you find your sister well?" Glorfindel enquired lightly, swirling the wine around in his cup before taking a sip.

I smiled ruefully. "Yes." I should have known he'd be aware that I'd visited my sister.

"My Lord, if I may discuss with you the reports of Prince Anárion?" Gildor enquired.  I sensed Ereinion's frustration, but he didn't show it as he pulled me down onto the bench that served as a seat with him.

When the Elves paused in their talks, that I had contributed nothing to, I smiled at Ereinion and put my hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. "I'll get some meals whilst you talk." It was half a request, half letting my Elf-love where I was going, because I knew that he would not be happy if I just got up and left.

Ereinion nodded, then pointed towards the queue lined up behind the table that served as the cafeteria. The cooking was done outside, brought in through the opening in the tent. "Just over there."
I peeled his hand off my arm, where he had put it as I stood up. "I figured that out for myself, my Lord."

I went over and joined the queue, attracting the attention of many Elves there. I have to admit, I haven't seen any females here, so naturally seeing a she-Elf in the middle of a war, when they hadn't seen a female for many years, I was bound to attract attention.

"My Lady," The Elf in front of me inclined his head politely, smiling. I smiled shyly back. "How is it that such a beautiful young Elf-maiden has ended up in the camps of the Last Alliance?"

He was nice, this dark-haired Elf that had greeted me so courteously, but I was rather nervous. I'm not sure why, though I'm guessing it has to do with knowing the wrong end of Ereinion's jealous side. It could also be that I've rarely been comfortable talking to males- I get all shy, and tend to do or say stupid things.

"I'm not sure myself," I replied timidly.

"Rúmion! That's quite a find that you have there," another Elf came over. I didn't quite like the way they seemed to leer at me. Elves don't leer like humans. They can be the soul of courtesy, but they were implying things that would lead to certain other actions and I definitely wasn't comfortable with that right at the moment.

"That she is," a third and more familiar voice said coming up from behind me. I turned to find Ereinion standing there, and he gave the other Elves a warning glance that clearly said that I was off-limits to anybody else, and they'd have to answer to the High King if they wished to pursue me.

"Ah, my Lord King," Rúmion greeted with a grin. "I did not realise that you were taken by our charming flower here."

Ereinion wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. I grinned at him, and his expression was the same as he looked down at me. He looked up at Rúmion and the other Elf.

"I am much taken by Anórmír. Though I fear this war is no place for her or her sister, I think to send her to safety would be a tragedy."

"A tragedy, my Lord?" Rúmion mocked. "Indeed, it would be. For she would not be here for lonely Elves to gaze upon, to lighten our hearts in the face of this Dark battle. But I wonder, my Lord, if the greater tragedy would be for us to lose her from our sights or for you?"

I blushed and buried my head in Ereinion's chest. I wanted to hit Rúmion. That was so corny and embarrassing!! Ereinion slipped his fingers under my chin and tilted my head up, granting me a soft kiss. He held me closer.

"Make no mistake, Rúmion. The Lady Anórmír is already spoken for. You make look, so long as you do not touch." I was mildly amused by that comment; it proved the extent of Ereinion's strong will, that he was used to getting what he wanted. But at the same time, I had no objection. It was nice to have someone who cared that much for me. Rúmion bowed jestingly.

"As our noble Lord decrees," He grinned at me, as I peeked over my shoulder at him. "If I might be so bold as to request that all step aside to let our love-struck High King and his Lady to get their meals before us?" Ereinion snorted in amusement and led me between the two lines of Elves who moved out of the way as we made our way to the front of the queue. We took a bowl in each hand and made our way back to the table where Gildor and Glorfindel sat grinning, having seen the scene that had taken place just moments earlier. Needless to say, I kept my gaze lowered as much as possible, and mentally willed the blush on my cheeks to cool down.

"So, Anórmír, perhaps you can enlighten us as to what really happened when Elrond sought yourself and Minaimîr out?" Glorfindel suggested lightly, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "Minaimîr was somewhat vague on her account of the event and Lord Gil-galad assures me the tale is amusing to hear." I grinned, unable to do anything further about the blush that crept up on my cheeks.

"Well..."

"…And then Rhiannon – that is, Minaimîr – got her hand beneath his armour – she wasn't serious about what she was doing, but it was disturbing Elrond in a way I don't think he'll ever forget.  Obviously it all got to much for him, because the next moment he's bolting out the tent like a scared rabbit!" I recounted for my small audience, who laughed uproariously.
I don't normally like being the centre of attention, but the incident was so funny and it was nice to be able to tell the tale that I wanted to – i.e., truthfully – without Rhiannon butting in and taking over. I let her do the talking normally, mostly because I'm not always quick to think of answers and any sort of hesitation instantly makes people distrust you. Besides, my Elf-sister has this wonderful way of bellowing at the top of her lungs and moving off the topic until not even the questioner can remember what started her tirade in the first place. It does make things slightly more convenient for us; it's usually at that point they send us off elsewhere while they try to figure out what the hell she was trying to call attention to.

It was at that point that we became aware that someone had been watching us; Glorfindel and I knew immediately who the retreating figure was, and he jumped and raced out into the night to catch up with her.

"Who?" Gildor furrowed his brow as he watched Glorfindel make his hasty exit.

"Minaimîr," I said, sipping water from my cup. "It seems she has decided to awaken once more." I glanced up at Ereinion, who pulled me closer with the arm he had wrapped firmly round my waist.

Gildor, I hope you will excuse us, we must find Glorfindel and make sure he is instructing the Lady Minaimîr to rest more, since her recovery is slower than should be," Ereinion said, getting up from his seat, without letting go of me.

"Of course, my Lord," Gildor smiled, glancing at me. "You needn't make excuses for my sake though. I understood you enjoy avoiding Lord Elrond at night, though perhaps your purpose has some sweet reward in mind should you succeed?"

Ereinion chuckled as he glanced surreptitiously at me. I manage to hide my blush, but not the naughty little grin that threatened to spread across my face. I knew what Gildor was implying, and if Ereinion thought he was going to get his way tonight, he would find himself in a predicament worse than being tied up with a washcloth.

We were silent as we wandered through the light of the fires and torches that lined the pathways between tents...I furrowed my brow as I sensed something, almost heard something.

Rhiannon, I thought without realising that Ereinion would hear me.

'Minaimîr? Where?' Came his voice in my mind.

I jumped slightly, having forgotten our mind-link, but I calmed down a lot quicker than I had last time. 'I'm not sure.she's nearby, I think.if it turns out to be a cat or something, you won't laugh, will you?'

Ereinion chuckled in his throat, a deep rumbling sound that I could have listened to over and over without ever getting bored. We continued walking, until we came to a spot where large rocks protruded from the ground and dead branchy bushes littered the spaces between them. I stopped and grinned. Ereinion didn't need the mind-link to know that I'd found them. We could both hear a certain amount of heavy breathing going on between long pauses.
"Rhiannon, Glorfindel, come out of there!" I called, successfully stifling a snigger. "We know you're in there!"

The sound of Rhiannon swearing foully came from the bushes.

Ereinion and I only had a few moments to wait before Glorfindel and Rhiannon appeared, both looking rather dishevelled. I raised an eyebrow, and the two seemed to take the hint as they viewed the odd angles at which they were wearing their clothes.

Rhiannon was blushing furiously, but I decided to test her patience and rub it in just a little more. "Now what on earth were the two of you up to in there?" I said loudly as yet more Elves walked by, their mouths turning up in grins as they heard my pronouncement.
Glorfindel looked about ready to sink into the earth. "Nothing that need concern the Lady Anórmír," he replied smoothly with a slight bow. "However, if the Ladies will excuse me, I must retire for the night."

"And not escort your Lady back to her tent?" Gil-galad said pointedly, grinning as Glorfindel realised his obvious mistake. "What manners, Glorfindel! I expected more from you."
Glorfindel blushed, but not quite the deep red that coloured Rhiannon's cheeks. "Of course, you are right, my Lord. Lady Minaimîr, will you allow me the pleasure of escorting you back to your tent?"

"Of course," Rhiannon said, the blush not leaving her face as she accepted Glorfindel's arm. I couldn't help grinning as widely as my mouth would allow.

'If you keep smiling like that, I will have to take advantage of it,' Ereinion said in my mind, sending me mental pictures of the kiss he intended to give me once we were alone again.
'Don't tempt me,' I replied, the blush creeping up on my face now too. Thankfully, neither Rhiannon nor Glorfindel noticed.

The stroll back to our tent – that is, mine and Rhiannon's – was far too short for my taste. I wanted more time with Ereinion when he didn't have to worry about the war that surrounded us. I could tell that Rhiannon was somewhat disappointed with this arrangement, but I was content. My teasing game with Ereinion was going well, and I had no intention of letting him win just yet by.  *Ahem*.

I suspect the link Ereinion created between myself and him went further than just the mind. As we reached the tent, he wrapped both his arms around me, looking down and whispered in my head, 'What it is that has got you all excited now?' His smile showed contentment, but his eyes twinkled mischievously.

I glanced at his chest, noting the beautiful skin I could see at the tempting open of his tunic. Putting my hands on his chest, I reached up on my tiptoes to kiss him softly. I grinned against his mouth as my hands found that opening to his tunic and I fingered his soft yet firm skin that was hidden there. I felt and heard Ereinion's sharp gasp of breath as I did so, but he didn't dare move his arms from around me lest he act in a way that was not consider proper for the High King of the Elves. 'This,' I answered.

Ereinion didn't say anything- couldn't say anything, as I continued to kiss and torture him thus. He took a deep breath slowly, trying to control his breathing so it wasn't obvious that he was panting. He brought his hands to my face. I long for the time when I can return this favour, he growled lustfully.

"Good night, my love," I whispered aloud, that small smirk crossing my face once again. "Be sure to rest well."

"And you also, my lovely Elf-maiden," he replied for the benefit of anyone who might be watching or listening to us. 'Rest well, because when I get that chance to…' He paused to give the innuendo effect, 'you shall not rest for a great long time.' His kissed my hand, and I went inside the tent still smirking, followed by Rhiannon who was still reeling from Glorfindel's kiss.
I sat on my 'bed' and looked over at Rhiannon as she pulled back the first blanket on her bed to sit down.

We grinned simultaneously and squealed, "Details! No, you first!"

"Absolute heaven," Rhiannon said, flopping back on the pile of blankets. "After Glorfy and I had been booted out by Gilly, leaving you alone with him, I was overwhelmed by the emotion, guilt and exhaustion of it, and spilled a lot of the stuff to Glorfy who took me to his tent and gave me another one of those wonderful massages of his.  Like before, I feel asleep. I hope he doesn't do it while we're…" She gave me a little side-glance, to check that I understood her meaning before she continued. "'Cause I would hate to fall asleep during… Anyhow, I woke up much later as you know, and I wandered over to that tent you were all having dinner at.  You rather seemed to be enjoying yourself spinning that tale for them."

"It wasn't a tale!" I protested. "I spoke the truth!"

"Oh, sure."

"Alright, with some minor embellishments."

"That's better," Rhiannon put her hands behind her head and continued her story. "And then, of course, I ran off, not really knowing where I was going when these hands started grabbing me. I struggled, thinking it was an Orc or worse, and then Glorfy whispered in my ear..."

She stopped at this point to giggle incessantly. "And it wasn't much longer before you and Gilly found us."

"In the bushes," I added mercilessly, giggling

"Shut up! It was the closest most private place we could find at the time." Rhiannon retorted hotly.

"It's still funny. Anything else? You're missing quite a chunk of story there. Don't think I hadn't noticed."

"Just a lot of kissing and innuendoes."

"We knew about the kissing. In fact, most Elves who walked by knew about it. Neither of you were trying very hard to hide the heavy breathing and moaning, were you?"

"Hey!" was the only thing that Rhiannon could come up with on short notice to my comment."

"Now what about these innuendoes? Hmmm?"

Rhiannon chuckled wickedly. "He's enthralled. I never realised how lusty these male Elves can be. If it weren't for my neck being so sore, we'd probably have done it then and there."

"I, for one, am thankful that it did not. It would have been a lot worse if Ereinion and I had waited for you to come out, and when you didn't, the two of us go in to see what's happening."

"Count me as two, for being thankful you didn't bust in on us. Although you did a bloody good job of ruining the moment."

"It was bed time, and we wanted to make sure you weren't going to Glorfindel's bed, as everybody knows how much you need your sleep. We suspected there wouldn't have been much resting going on if we didn't check up on you. Turns out we were probably right."

"That's besides the point, now, your turn. Spill the beans; what did you and Gilly get up to after we'd gone?"

"We talked; Ereinion seemed very unnerved by your little speech at the main pavilion. He was quite apologetic. He was quite understanding, and wanted our version of what had happened. Apparently Elrond had not gone into details, he'd just said exactly what Ereinion accused us of – molesting him. Once I cleared that issue up, everything was good and we got the making up part – kissing, that is. I like that part. If it were up to me, we'd skip the angry outbursts and explanations and skip straight to the making up."

"I bet you'd enjoy making out even more than making up," Rhiannon grinned wickedly.

I sighed feigning exasperation, grinning wicked in the near pitch black. I'm sure I would too. But not just yet.

I looked around the 'room', trying to see Rhiannon's reaction in the darkness. Our tent was not large by the standards of the Elves' tents that we had seen, but by no means was it as small as those that people used back home for camping. Rhiannon's bed lie to one side of the tent flap against the tent 'wall', if you can call it that, and mine was directly parallel opposite, on the other side of the tent flap. The 'entrance' itself was enough so the two armoured Elves could stand comfortably within its cloth frame. The middle of the room was bare, except for the blanket that served as a covering of the ground. I'm sure I've mentioned before that the beds in the camp were made of blankets, including the 'pillows'- I'm astounded that the Elves could bring so many. Of course, between bringing more blankets or heaving feather pillows and mattresses, I suppose it was easier that way for such a huge army.

My mind was drifting off to Ereinion's bed, wondering what it would be like with him in it, when Rhiannon broke the silence that had fallen over us.

"Well?"

I turned my head to look at her in the dim light that the tent allowed through its fabric.

"Well, what?"

"Well, what happened then? You didn't think I'd let you get away with telling me only that much did you? There's more, and I know it." Rhiannon demanded.

"I went to Glorfindel's tent, he wouldn't let me in to see you, and he practically pushed me to the main tent.  I spent a bit more time writing; but I kept getting distracted, so I left and went to check on you. Your snoring wasn't all that entertaining, so I came back here."

"And? How did you end up at the dining 'hall' with Gilly, with Gilly's arm firmly attached to your waist that looked to promise that he would never be letting go?"

Bloody Rhiannon. Why does she have to be so nosy!? My game with Ereinion is mine, and NO ONE shall interfere!

I sighed and gave in. Damn my weak will. "Ereinion found me here, we did some more of that kissing and cuddling that I mentioned before..." I hesitated to tell her about the 'link' Ereinion had created between us. I decided not to. I wanted to keep it to myself, for it to mine and Ereinion's secret alone for now. Realising that Rhiannon's curiosity was growing as the silence grew longer, I continued, "...and some tumbling around as well."

Rhiannon squealed and clapped her hands delightedly.

"He's very strong, much stronger than I had thought he was. I don't envy anyone who falls in his path as the Enemy. Anyhow, it wasn't so long and we were off for dinner, him and Gildor and Glorfindel talking shop."

Rhiannon burst out laughing. "That sounds so funny the way you put that! I can't imagine guys 'talking shop'."

"It's an expression for when a bunch of people talk about the current issues in their life. For girls that's clothes and boys and whatnot; for guys, here and now, it's the war."

"Nooooo...Really? I never would have guessed!" she remarked wryly. "But it still sounds funny. I get this image of the three of them sitting around in a pink-wall cafe, sipping tea from china cups and dressed in frilly pink dresses."

I giggled. "Well...now that you put it that way..."

"Anything else happen in my absence?"

"Not much. I queued up to get dinner for us, and got hit on by a couple of Elves, at which point Ereinion came over and made sure they all knew they were to keep their hands off me- that might be why he was giving out the impression he wasn't letting me go- and then I was asked to explain what had really happened in the Elrond incident. I feel kinda sorry that he wasn't there to defend himself – although I *did* tell the truth, mostly – but we had a good laugh anyway. I'll have to apologise some day. He's not a bad guy, he's just doing his job and we come in and stir things up."

After that, we eventually turned over and shut our eyes and went to sleep. Or at least, I tried to. Rhiannon tossed and turned, keeping me awake.

"Go to sleep, Rhiannon," I grumbled, not opening my eyes.

"I can't," she whined. "There's too much on my mind."

Yeah…Glorfindel. Damn it, can't she just dream about him instead of thinking? That's what I was doing, though it wasn't Glorfindel who occupied my wonderful fantasies.

I sighed. "I know. I've got too much on my mind too."

"What are we going to do about them? About the future?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry about it?" First things first, we needed sleep. Ponderings of what we were going to do could happen later. Of course, I must admit, I already had my intentions planned out. I had been in the middle of planning what other terrible tortures I could inflict before Ereinion returned the teasing on a level where there was no returning from.

"But...are we going to marry our Elves, or just have illicit affairs with them, or." She paused. "Will they even marry us this young? I thought Elves married off at around fifty. We've got a long way to go before we hit fifty."

Well, if my plans worked out, Ereinion would definitely be wanting...*ahem* certain activities...and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't do anything of that sort unless I was married to the guy. Rhiannon seems to have to ponder these questions, whereas I figure it all out from the beginning. It's called planning, and it makes things soooooo much more fun. Admittedly, it's calculated in its approach, but at least I know what I want and how I'm going to get it. And I'm sure Ereinion doesn't mind all that much, so long as he gets what he wants in the end.

"Rhiannon, I swear, if you don't go to sleep right now, I'm going to – "

"I suppose both Glorfy and Gilly are a couple of thousand years old a piece...did you know that Glorfy's died once already?"

"Yeah, fighting a Balrog, wasn't it?" I answered tiredly. And Ereinion is 3572 years old, give or take a few years, I thought to myself, which is only 3554 years older than me. This gives a completely new meaning to "cradle snatching"

"Yeah...So do you think Glorfy'll marry me now or in thirty-two years from now? Would their customs and rituals even allow for this? I mean, are we considered to be children by them?"

I suppose I could've avoided Rhiannon's worried babble if I'd just pointed out that Elrond's father Eärendil had been about 18 (our current age) when he married Elwing (who is about three years older than him), and a few years later the two of them got together and Elwing popped out the twins we know as Elros and Elrond. But I didn't. Rhiannon isn't all that receptive to notions that make her stopping being a worrywart. She loves to have a good panic over nothing.

"Shut up and go to sleep. I'm quite sure that if we still considered children in their eyes, Ereinion would not have pinched my arse the way he did today." I scaled down the truth a bit. Ereinion had grasped my arse, not pinched. Still, I knew even that was likely to brighten Rhiannon's curiosity.

"What?!"

"Nothing. Go to sleep."

"Did you just say Gil-galad pinched your arse?"

"I said, go to sleep!"

Rhiannon was quiet for about two seconds before she started another conversation. "What does 'Minaimîr mean, anyway? Do you know? Glorfy wouldn't tell me when he gave me the name."

Either I was having deja vú or I recalled an earlier conversation when I'd already told her that I had no idea.

"Ask him in the morning," I suggested grumpily, turning onto my back, to see if I could get to sleep better that way. I heard Rhiannon 'fluffing' her pile of blankets that she used as pillows, wriggling around between each small moment of silence in which she tried out another pose in her bed. When it didn't seem to stop, I let loose a peeved growl and hurled the pillow-case filled with soft blankets at her.

It occurred to me she'd been saying something to me before she let out an equally peevish, "Ow! What was that for?"

"I'm trying to sleep!" I don't know how it was I managed to refrain from petty name-calling.

"Well, you didn't have to - OW!" She yelped as I flung another one at her. This time she didn't try to reply with words- she threw my pillows back at me.

"Oof!" I muttered as the force of the blows pushed me back. "Cow!"

"Moo!" she replied in typical Rhiannon fashion.

"Go to sleep!" I half-ordered, half-begged.

"I'm trying!"

Yes, you are very trying Rhiannon. "So am I!" I retorted. It was at this point I realised that Rhiannon was annoying me simply because she knew it pissed me off. So I grabbed my pillows, stuck them back under my head, closed my eyes and ignored her.

I think she got the point, because she didn't say anything else. I was half-asleep when faint torchlight streamed into the tent and the sound of Rhiannon leaving brought me to a vague consciousness. I closed my eyes again, thankful that I would be able to get some peace to sleep. My sleep-riddled mind didn't care whether she was heading for Glorfindel's tent or not, just so long as it wasn't me she was annoying.

I don't know how long it was until I felt the light on my face as the tent flap opened again, and heard heavy footsteps - footsteps that numbered too many to be just Rhiannon, and too heavy to be any Elf.  I started, opening my blurry eyes, but I wasn't quick enough as somebody grabbed me, automatically putting a hand over my mouth before it occurred to me to scream for help. I struggled as I was lifted easily from my bed of blankets, kicking and twisting my head, clutching at my kidnapper's arms with my nails, trying to pull his hand away from me. He reeked, this guy. He smelt of months old sweat, body odour and dried blood. I'm surprised he didn't have a trail of flies hanging off him. On second thoughts, I don't like that idea; especially now that he's touching me. I don't know how it was I hadn't smelt him from a mile away, but he'd gotten into the tent with his companions, who were helping him to subdue me.

"Stop it, bitch!" a nastily familiar voice snarled in hushed tones from in front of me. He was obviously scared that the Elves would hear. "Or we'll be forced to hurt you. I can't afford to be caring for a stupid wench because I had to beat her into submission!"

I knew that voice. Where did I know that voice from? I stopped thrashing about, but the hand didn't move from my mouth. I didn't like the suggestions the man was making, but I had a better chance of escaping if I co-operated until I knew what they had planned for me. My mind conjured horrors I wasn't willing to face, but I promised myself that if they tried anything of the sort, I'd rather go down fighting than face the damaged life I would have to lead otherwise.

As my hands and feet were bound, I heard one of them whisper, "The other bitch ain't here. You don't think she's with that damned prissy Elf- lord, do you?"

I felt the tip of a knife at my throat.

The familiar voice spoke again quietly. "Tell us where the short brown haired wench is, and don't think even think of trying to scream – I can cut your throat quicker than any Elf can get here."
The hand moved from over my mouth, and I fought the urge to gag. I thankfully had my excuse already made. "I don't know," I hissed. "She walked out without telling me where she was going."
There was silence as my captors judged the veracity of what I'd said. Nothing else was said, but obviously there had been some sort of signal, as I was gagged, blindfolded and then dragged outside the tent and thrown unceremoniously onto a horse's back.

'Ereinion?' I said in my mind, but I wasn't sure if my Elvish love would hear me. I had no idea how to communicate with him in that way, and his presence didn't seem to be in my mind. I made a mental note to get him to teach me some time soon after his wrath was dispelled onto these rats. I spat in my mind at the notion that men had any honour.

I don't know how it was they kept me on the horse without any Elves seeing as they rode to their camp, but judging by the length of the journey, I knew that we had long since passed King Elendil's camp and that we were in Isildur's territory when the horses came to a stop and the men dismounted. I felt the men grabbed the back of my tunic and hauled me down from the horse, dragging me by the shoulders into the tent. There was light here, and my eyes blinked several times before they adjusted to the light. There was shadow, a form of another man, pouring wine by the sounds of it, his back to me as I knelt still bound by hand and foot. As he turned to survey me, my face became a mask of quiet fury.

As the gag was removed, I spat, "Isildur! I should've known!" Cliché that, but at the time, I felt so stupid that I hadn't guessed it was him behind the kidnapping idea. Isildur raised his eyebrow, taking a sip of his wine.

"But why? I would be the last person anyone would suspect of doing such a thing. My honour is unquestionable in this matter, or any other."

"Whatever you think," I glared haughtily at him. Isildur's face darkened for a moment, and he took another sip of the wine, before putting his metal goblet back on the little table.

"If I were you, I wouldn't try my patience, she-Elf. The Elves might have fallen under your spell, but I won't. One word from me will bring Captain Dúmassë with an axe to cleave off your head!"

I stared back at him, refusing to look down or show any signs of fear to this psychotic maniac. Isildur turned, somehow satisfied that my empty silence meant that he had won the contest of wills.

As his back faced me I replied softly, threateningly, "And in that one word, you would destroy everything. Ereinion will know at the exact instant that I were dying what you had done and his wrath would fall upon you with greater force than the Dark Lord himself. Your own father would disown, for the sake of the Alliance and to appease Ereinion's anger. Ereinion knows what the Alliance means to the fate of Middle Earth; he would accept the gesture, but later he would hunt you down like the dark vile creature that you are. Run, Isildur, if you start now, you might live for another day before he finds you."

Isildur spun around, his eyes blazing with an unknown emotion. Wordlessly, he stalked out of his tent, his men following in tow. Dúmassë glared at me one last time before he too left.

Alone, I allowed myself to sit down as best I could with hands and feet tied, taking a deep breath and sending a silent prayer to whoever was listening that Rhiannon would be able to escape and alert Glorfindel and Ereinion of what was afoot. Isildur's tent was sparsely furnished, like most of the commanders' tents, it had a small table that served as a desk, and a bed of rough strewn blankets. There was a small lantern lit on the desk that gave light to the 'room', a mercy I was grateful for. If I'd been left in the dark, my mind would have invented all sorts of ideas behind Isildur's reason for planning the kidnapping of myself and my Elf-sister.

Tears welled in my eyes and I had to blink many times to get rid of them. So much had happened in the past week, and the weight of the emotions I'd carefully kept hidden came crashing down. The light no longer brought comfort in this strange place, the tent of one who may or may not intend to kill me. My thoughts drifted back to my family. I'd avoided thinking about them until now, knowing how upset it would make me if I did. I wondered how they'd reacted to my death. Did they believe I was to blame for the accident? How many times did my elder sister end up in hospital because her heart pained her with grief? How were my younger brother and sister coping without me to help them with dinner, schoolwork and keeping our older sister amused in hospital? Had Dad come home from working overseas for my funeral? What did Nanna believe? And my mother...? I swallowed a thick lump in my throat, and tried to think of something else. My sight was blurry with tears now, the salty drops streaming down my face in unrestrained rivers. I wondered what happened to the chocolate we were carrying laughed out loud at that thought, quelling much of my sorrow at the separation from my family.

I hope our families had sued the truck driver and got a lot of money. I can live with death so long as my family has some sort of compensation to take care of them in my absence. Still I had Rhiannon for family now, so I was not totally alone in this strange world, no matter how far the distance apart we were. She had been my best friend, perhaps my only true friend.a saying came unbidden to my mind.

A good friend will come bail you out of jail.  But a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...we screwed up."

I fell onto my back laughing at just how apt that adage was. Rhiannon and I had stuck by one another through everything, even when the problem was caused by only one of us. I was quietly smiling to myself, all trace of tears gone when I heard the sound of horses outside the tent. Isildur walked in, smirking, clearly satisfied about something he'd done.

"Ah, Lady Anórmír.  In better spirits this time, I hope?" he greeted me, still congratulating his self-victory. "I have pondered your words whilst my men waited for your sister to return to your tent – which she did, and was caught in much the same manner as yourself – and I am profoundly grateful that you have pointed out the error of my plans."

I raised an eyebrow, acting supreme, until Captain Dúmassë carried Rhiannon inside. I could see the growing bruise that flowered on her face in black and purple shades.

"Rhiannon!" I exclaimed. "Rhiannon!  Wake up." I glared at Captain Dumbass as he dropped her like a sack of potatoes in my lap.

Rhiannon groaned and slowly began to move. She opened her eyes and looked herself over, surveying the damage. Lifting her tied hands to her head, she grumbled something unintelligible.

"Rhiannon," I breathed gratefully. "Thank the Stars, you're alright."

"Fiona?" She mumbled, blinking to clear her blurry eyes. "What the bloody fark happened?"

"Such an interesting saying you have there," Isildur interrupted haughtily. His arrogance was starting to irritate me. If he wasn't careful, tied hands or no, I was going to slap him. "No wonder you two are such a distraction. And we cannot be having with such distractions."

"Isildur?" Rhiannon queried, as puzzled by his presence in the matter as I had been. Her confusion turned to a scowl as she turned her head; it still pounding by the looks of it. "What do you want?"

"To get you two out of here so we can concentrate on winning this war," he replied, for a moment he seemed genuinely sad; about something anyway. I doubted it was about us in anyway. "I am sorry," he continued, "for the treatment you have received at the hands of my men. I will see to it that they are punished."

"Sorry, my ass," Rhiannon snarled, wincing in pain, clutching at her head.

"If you didn't want us to be harmed," I said ominously quiet, "Then you should not have sent those - hooligans!" I struggled to find a mildly offensive word that would not be beyond the sensibilities of an Elf to say. I did have a reputation to maintain.

"I gave the matter to Captain Dúmassë to handle," Isildur frowned, looking to his captain. I rolled my eyes. Given our history with the Captain, he was the worst possible choice Isildur could have made when selecting the head-accomplice of our kidnapping. But then, Isildur's a Man, and we can't make assumption he'd do something that's actually intelligent. Isildur shook his head dismissively, obliviously to my reaction.

"It makes no matter, for I am still responsible for your keeping." He drew a dagger from his belt, and I kept back my smart reply to that comment. But when he bent down, it was only to cut the ropes that bound our hands and feet. Rhiannon rolled over and sat up, her weakened movements professing her dizzy state. Hastily I threw my ropes off and steadied her.

"Ereinion is going to have your head for this," I stated darkly, angry that my sister had been put in such a state. She still needed rest from the last incident we got into! Smashing her pretty face was not putting Isildur in good stead to come out of this alive or with balls intact.

"The High King will likely thank me for removing that which distracts him and Lord Glorfindel – you two – and putting you where you will be safe!" Isildur countered, but he sounded less sure of himself now. I took pride in that.

Removing us? That's what this was all about? I suddenly had my own doubts. Ereinion and Glorfindel had been severely concerned when Rhiannon and I jumped into the middle of the war and got our selves in a bad situation.  They'd kept us busily away from any sort of fighting since. My wound had healed quickly (damn I love being an Elf!) and was now just a faint line on my side, but it was a reminder of how stupid we'd been, and the lengths Ereinion was willing to go to, to ensure that I wasn't hurt again.

Since the day I'd left Ereinion tied to the chair, there had been no further talk of when we would resume our lessons in fighting. But Ereinion had had every chance to send us away elsewhere and he hadn't, the better part of my mind pointed out firmly. He kept you at his side, close by at every opportunity. You're not his weakness. You're his strength. You give him reason, hope and purpose to end this war. I heartily agreed with that. I'm sure he'd much prefer to spend the majority of his time chasing around with me and a small part running his Elven kingdom than spending the majority of his time running a war campaign and the minority with me.

I smiled smugly inwardly, keeping my expression emotionless. I looked up at Isildur, who had been watching me silently, knowing that I was thinking through his words. I doubted he'd realized I'd come to a very different conclusion than the one he wanted me to and thought I had. Making sure I gave no hint of my real thoughts in my voice, I asked evenly, "Where are you going to send us?"

"To my city, Minas Ithil," Isildur replied, his tone more respectful now, clearly thinking I'd had a change of heart. "For it is closest. There you will be given the most comfortable of apartments in which to dwell and to await the ending of this war." If Isildur had lived on Earth, I bet he'd have been a Marketing Director. His persuasive words and tone were not lost on me. After studying business, and knowing exactly how nasty the personnel in the Marketing Departments are (no offence to anyone who is – there are always exceptions to the rule), I was not falling for it.  If I waited there until the end of this war, there would be no reason for me to live. I knew Ereinion was doomed to die at the end of that war, and I had no intention of sitting around waiting for him to die. It made me all the more resolute to get away and back to Ereinion as soon as was possible.

"Yeah, and become Nazgûl fodder," Rhiannon muttered, louder than she had anticipated. Pretending that nobody had heard that, she said, "No thank you. I think we'll take our chances here." It seemed Rhiannon had come to much the same conclusion as I had.

This didn't impress Isildur one bit. "You do not have any choice in the matter," he declared firmly, watching my sister. "You will be taken to Minas Ithil as soon as the horses arrive." It seemed strange to me that he would say that, when we had been brought here by horses and it was then that I suddenly noticed that Isildur's men had not remained like they had before. The logical part of my mind pointed out that they hadn't had packhorses before, and that we would need them to carry our supplies. Isildur led us just beyond the tent flap; it was dark here, the night being long past midnight, but nowhere near dawn yet. Captain Dúmassë, Sergeant Lichmé and a half dozen or so men wandered out of the night with two horses a piece.

Dúmassë threw a coil of rope to Isildur, who apologized whilst he tied our wrists together again and gagged us, "My sincerest apologies, Ladies, but this is just to make sure you don't try any heroics or escapes before you reach Minas Ithil. Once you are inside my city, I can rest assured that no guard will let you leave the outer walls without the express written permission of myself." That didn't inspire my confidence. Even if by some chance Rhiannon and I didn't manage to get away before we reached Isildur's city, the notion that we would be the last to leave in the event of an attack was not a good one. Worse yet, we were stuck there unless this jackass decided we could leave – and I doubted it was to be to send us closer to the war. If anything, he'd probably send us even further away, to Minas Anor or further.

Sergeant Lichmé brought a horse over to us, and held the reins firmly in his hand, the other hand on the horse's head to make sure it got the message it wasn't to move, no matter what. Captain Dúmassë grabbed Rhiannon around the waist and she kicked out as he lifted her off the ground, and onto the horse's back.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" she snapped through the gag, even as Isildur stood back and surveyed me.

"I am not certain that I could lift you so high off the ground as to help you mount the horse, Lady Anórmír," he said courteously. Clearly my feigned obedience had warranted me special treatment. "If you were to move closer to the horse, I could give you a leg up." He put his hands together in a stirrup manner to show his meaning. I reluctantly moved closer to the horse where Rhiannon was scowling.

I turned to Isildur who had come up behind – to close for comfort, I thought – and put my foot in his hands. I rested my bound hands on the horse's back, and then pushed off the ground with my right foot as Isildur lifted my other leg to make sure I got my right leg over the horse's back. I made it first time, and the horse shifted a bit, causing me to try to shift my balance in time. Isildur grabbed my arm to steady me, leaving Rhiannon to grab the horse's mane and try not to fall.

Personally, I would've preferred what Rhiannon got. My skin shrank away from Isildur's touch, as though it somehow poisoned me to be in contact with him. The horse calmed down, and Isildur let go, stepping back. Sergeant Lichmé handed the reins of our horse over to Captain Dumbass who was already mounted. Lick-me mounted his own horse, and checked that the rest of the men were ready.

"Safe journey," Isildur said to us all with a nod of his head. With that, the horses were kicked into a gallop and we left the camping grounds of the Last Alliance, unchallenged and unknown.

It seemed like we'd been riding forever when dawn finally approached. I welcomed the light after the long dreary night, though the surrounding view was not so pleasant. The Marshes are even less cheerful than the battlefield we had left just hours before. The dull browns and grays of the mud didn't lighten anybodies mood, and the rank smell made even the hardiest stomach want to revolt in protest. Even our toilet back home smelt better after my brother had used it.

I was briefly thankful that we did not stop there. An aura of death and sorrow hung on that dreadful place, and I closed my eyes against the tears that threatened when I remembered just how many Men and Elves would die in that place.

The exhaustion of that galloping flight from Isildur's camp was not lost on any who rode in that group. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the sun revive me with its warm glow. I opened my eyes and saw Rhiannon's hideous bruise as she tried to glance over her shoulder at me without losing her balance. I wished there was some sort of gesture I could have made to reassure her, but my arms were wrapped around her, my bound hands against her stomach, in my only hope of staying on the madly galloping horse. As the sun began to lower in the west, the men slowed the horses, and gradually came to a halt. I removed my arms from Rhiannon's waist, pulling them over her head as she ducked. I slid off the horse, and helped Rhiannon to do so as well. Whether they intended for us to or not, we were aching all over, and most definitely saddle sore.I don't know how those guys can do it, ride all day then dismount and walk around with no hint of pain between their legs. It bloody hurts, if you ask me, and I'm female! One of the men came over and untied the gags, leaving us to our own devices as the other men searched for water.

"Fiona," Rhiannon said quietly, wincing as her jaw ached at the movement. "First chance we get, we're out of here."

"Agreed," I whispered, my throat to dry to speak any louder. "I'm not going to Minas Ithil. Not with these shit-heads."

"Nor am I, if I can help it." She glanced over her shoulder to see if the men were watching, and when they noticed us standing there. I suppose we were acting somewhat suspiciously, and it seemed the Dumbass and Lick-me knew what sort of ideas we were having because they brought over a chunk of flat bread and a water-skin, which they handed to us. My knees felt like they would give out any second, but I refused to collapse in front of these mongrels and thus I stood for the few minutes in which we were given sustenance.

Immediately after, another of the men gave us a leg up back onto the horse and we were off again, at a trot this time, much to mine and Rhiannon's displeasure. Trotting is an awful gait on a horse when you don't have stirrups with which to raise yourself against getting your arse bounced painfully all over the seat of the saddle, but when there are two people who have their hands tied together, riding bareback on a horse they have no control over, it gets mightily uncomfortable. Unable even to get a grip of the horse's flanks with my knees so that I might raise my bruised posterior, I endured the bouncing with as few winces as I could manage. I couldn't see Rhiannon's face, but I doubted she faired any better than I did, her neck being jolted as it was. We were much nearer the mountains that night, as the light of the stars revealed to us against the black sky of night, and there was a faint wind that blew in our faces as we continued our ride.

Though I was eternally grateful that we would not have to breathe in the rotten fumes of the Marshes, I wished Men did not have an aversion to baths! Or at least, for them not to be in our way of the breeze! It would have been a nice change to breathe in fresh air for once! The only consolation of this all, was thinking that by now, it was inevitable that Ereinion and Glorfindel would had found us gone and started a search party at the very least.

By my judgment of time it was somewhere about midnight when we stopped for proper rest. I know that I was very tired, and had wanted to sleep many times, and Rhiannon and leant forward so that I could rest my head on her back to sleep, but I only slept in a few minute snatches, frightened that my head bouncing on her back was not helping it to heal. It was also very uncomfortable to try sleeping when the horse is trotting. I dismounted, grateful to be able to still stand when my feet hit the ground. My legs very nearly gave out on me in protest.

Rhiannon didn't even try landing on her feet, she just rolled off the horse's back and aimed to land on the biggest natural cushion she owned – her arse. She succeeded. I let out a puff of breath that was the best equivalent to laughter I could manage in my drained state. She sat there, fighting off unconsciousness, the rolling of her eyes and blinking giving away her extremely ill condition. She was dizzy, that was obvious as she tried to blink the stars from her eyes. I helped her stumble over to the small fire the men had made. For a moment, I despaired that she would be well enough to escape if the opportunity arose, and that we would never get back to Ereinion and Glorfindel before we were at Minas Ithil, but I shoved it out of my mind and concentrated on helping my Elvish sister. She has the profound ability to spring back from just about anything.

Several of the men who had slinked into the darkness returned with a handful of dead rabbits in their hands. It made me sick to think we'd likely be eating those, and I turned my head as they skinned them and gutted them. The smell of them cooking wafted over to us, and I could see Rhiannon, with dark rings under her eyes (where there wasn't bruising), watching the rabbit meat over the fire hungrily.

I was somewhere between hunger and nausea. I suppose I'd better explain my dislike for rabbit meat. Granted, I've never had it, it could be quite tasty.  But my mother lived on a farm and sometimes rabbit was all the meat they could get/afford for themselves, and she regaled us with stories that not even Nanna's cooking could make them taste any better than average. My Nanna is a brilliant cook, and if she can't do anything to make it taste good, you know it's a lost hope that these rabbits were going to taste nice. Besides, the notion of eating something I'd watched being skinned and gutted...ugh!

Rhiannon and I were given a rabbit to eat amongst our selves, without cutlery or plates. Needless to say, I am not one for adventure or camping. I am meticulous about how I do things, when the situation is in my control, I go into it over-prepared, which usually turns out to be a good thing. Right now though, I could tell that my high-standards of propriety were not going to help Rhiannon or I in our current circumstances. Rhiannon stuffed her face with rabbit meat ravenously, chewing hungrily and I less enthusiastically joined in. It was somewhat burnt but for that I was grateful; I'd rather eat something that tastes mostly like charcoal than it does rabbit. I watched keenly unnoticed by the hungry men, that Dúmassë had plunged his knife into the dirt next to him, leaving it unattended for the moment. It stood tantalizingly just a metre or so away. I went back to tearing little bits and pieces off rabbit off with my bound hands and eating them. I turned to Rhiannon who seemed to have noticed much the same thing.

"Get some rest," the captain growled at us, as he lay back next to the fire, wriggling a bit to get comfortable. "And don't bother trying to escape, you won't get far, and even if you did, you couldn't survive for long."

"Then why the hell did you tie our hands together then, Dumbass?" Rhiannon snarled with food in her mouth. I'm not the most graceful of people, but Rhiannon seriously needs to learn some etiquette. I think I've made it my unspoken challenge to be the one to do that and I've found that just by being around her, my actions can influence the way she does things. Not often, but every now and again Rhiannon will actually think before acting or speaking, which she normally wouldn't.

One of the men with a face that rivaled a dog's butt (no offence to dogs) came up with a wicked grin and shoved a waterskin at Rhiannon. She took a swig without much qualm and passed it to me. I wiped the mouthpiece - I didn't like sharing saliva with those disgusting men; no offence, Rhiannon.

"I would prefer not to risk the lives of my men for a pair of silly women who will not listen to reason and who insist upon heading for the hills at any moment despite the innate futility of their actions," Captain Dumbass retorted. His men roared with laughter at their captain's description of us.

"You could always let us return to the camp," I said civilly, the men automatically stopping their mirth to listen. It was nice to know they had some kind of manners, that they would immediately shut up to listen to the soft spoken words of a lady. I might not act like a lady at times, but as an Elf-maiden with the eye of the High King of the Elves, I was ennobled whether these asses liked it or not.

"We have our orders," Lichmé replied resolutely, in some tiny part apologetic. "You are to be taken to Minas Ithil and kept out of the way of the Elvish King Gil-galad and his Lieutenant, the Lord Glorfindel. Although I understand how you two could be 'distractions', I do not see what either of them could find attractive in you." I did not appreciate that comment, and glared at to make sure he knew. Rhiannon did likewise at my side. Lick-me suddenly looked very uncomfortable. I was half-heartedly thinking that I should point out that it was because of them, that we were currently nothing to look at (mud, dirt, no bath, bruised and sore…I certainly didn't subject myself to that willingly!), but I restrained myself on a count of they were not worth the effort.

The men talked amongst themselves as Rhiannon and I sat quietly, not really listening in. I made sure not to watch Dumbass' knife too closely, lest he notice and put it away properly. Rhiannon's outburst had given me hope that my Elvish sister would be able to make the journey back to camp once we came up with a plan to escape. The men settled down to sleeping, leaving Rhiannon and I still sitting unobtrusively to one side. Two of the men stayed awake, looking out into the darkness to detect any enemy presence. Carefully, I crept forward on my hands and knees from my seated position and carefully grasped Dumbass' knife from the ground. I moved back to me seat silently, adrenaline rushing through my veins. I couldn't believe I'd just done it! I got Dumbass' knife without him knowing!

All right, so I was rather arrogant about that. I'm entitled to some pride. You might've noticed I'm not one to do brave things, and this was probably the bravest – and stupidest – thing I'd ever done. Rhiannon's influence on me must be growing.

I was so thrilled I had to restrain myself from giggling and giving myself away. Moving quietly and slowly so as not to attract the attention of the slack-arsed sentries. I was freed in no time, turning to cut Rhiannon's bonds. I saw the pride in her eyes, like that of a mother-duck whose ducklings just learned to fly. We didn't say anything, and indeed we didn't need to. The time we'd spent together had conformed our thinking to the same ideas and notions. And really bad clichés.

Our luck held as the so-called sentries fell asleep. Snoring is a dead giveaway that you'd not paying attention to your job. Although it was good news for our escape plan, it sent a shiver down my spine to think that if we hadn't been awake, we could've been woken to a bunch of orcs slitting our throats. And that was not a nice thought.

I must be grateful that we were now Elves, because I can think of no other way that we could have pulled the stunt off so quietly. One by one, we tied them up and gagged them to a thorny tree nearby, before they started to wake up and realised what had happened. I find it hard to believe that grown men don't feel themselves being dragged from their beds to a prickly tree or that they had been tied up and gagged, but there you have it; stupid men do have purpose after all.

Rhiannon stood far away enough to be beyond their reach as she stared down at them all, giggling and sticking her tongue and taunting them. I had no such desire to taunt the men like that. Granted, I wanted to rub in the fact that we'd just gone and done what they had thought impossible – that's what they get for assuming two young Elf-maidens are incapable of such things; so I left it to Rhiannon to mock them, whilst I searched the saddle bags for food and any other equipment that would be handy to have on our way back. Remember, we'd come about entire 24 hours worth of riding from the camp, and who knew what we would meet trying to return. It was then that I found…

"Hey Rhiannon!" I called out. Rhiannon looked up mid-taunt. "I found our backpacks!"

"What the hell are they doing here?" Rhiannon wondered aloud, coming over.

"They probably took them to conceal the evidence," I surmised. "To make it look as though we ran away."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Rhiannon protested. "Why the hell would we run away?"

"Of course it makes sense," I replied matter-of-factly. Trust Rhiannon not to understand logic. "If they'd left our bags, everyone in the camp would know we'd been kidnapped."

"But it doesn't make sense," Rhiannon reiterated. "Glorfy and Gilly know full well that we wouldn't run away - not after what happened the last time we encountered them - so what possible reason would they have for taking our odd assortment of junk with us?"

Rolling my eyes and giving up on explaining the obvious to my rather thick- headed Elvish sister, I opened up my pack and then held it away from my face. "Nasty!" I gagged. "I'd forgotten about the pineapple."

"Apparently," Rhiannon added dryly, as the stench of rotting tropical fruit came at her suddenly from my open backpack. "Your 'odd undergarments' are going to smell quite bad for some time."

I wasn't so troubled by the smell, I was just glad it hadn't rotted to the point that juice was going everywhere. Rhiannon grinned suddenly, her face lighting up as it does when she's come up with another hare-brained idea.

"Think we should shove rotten pineapple all over Dumbass' face?"

"More than likely, but...I think we should save it."

Rhiannon stared at me. "What? You actually want to keep that thing? It reeks more than the Bog of Eternal Stench!"

I frowned, something, some instinct told me we were going to need it later. "I honestly don't know," I said at last. "I've just got a feeling we're going to need it."

Rhiannon shrugged. "Whatever then. But it's staying in your pack."

"Okay," I agreed and handed her the other pack. Rhiannon accepted it from my grasp then went back over to the tied up men of Isildur to deliver her last statement.

"Well," she said cheerfully to the infuriated stares of the idiot soldiers of Gondor, "it was fun while it lasted, but, well, we have a camp and some hot Elves to be getting back to, not to mention some serious Orc ass to kick. So we'll be seeing 'ya around!"

I smiled with good-humour, only slightly guilty that we were leaving them there bound and unarmed. Rhiannon and I took our pick of the horses and left, our laughter high and merry.

Naturally we talked as we rode back the way we had come, Rhiannon eager to find out what had happened to me whilst she'd been out walking and I wanting to know when and how they'd found her. Apparently they'd lied in wait, expecting her to come back to her tent, which she had. I was rather glad of that, though I know it sounds terrible when I say it like that. But if Rhiannon hadn't been caught, I likely would have had to make this journey with the men alone, and I wouldn't have been able to muster the courage to escape or continue to hold my head high.

Funny that, for all I speak exasperatedly over Rhiannon's reckless behaviour, she inspires me to do things that I normally wouldn't have the guts to do. Of course, I wasn't going to let her know that. The wind brought us evidence that we were getting closer to the Dead Marshes, and everything started looking up for us.

Right up until the sound of orcs came to our sensitive Elven ears. The horses went berserk, which was badly timed for us. Thrown into the air, Rhiannon landed awkwardly on the ground, which couldn't be good for her large collection of bruises, as I managed to slid off the saddle to ones side and roll out of the way of the horse's hooves. The instinct from before was back, and I knew just what to do. I pulled the mushy pineapple from my pack and lobbed it at the ugliest looking Orc.

"Fiona?" Rhiannon called, pain evident in her voice.

I watched satisfactorily as the pineapple splattered all over the Orc's face.

"Still alive!" I yelled back, swinging my pack off my back. "For now," I added as the orcs rushed us.

I reached down for the coconut and was about to throw it when it was snatched from my hand. Thinking it was an Orc, I turned around swiftly and irritably snatched it back off Rhiannon.

"Let me!" she yelled, trying to take the fruit back off me.

"No way!" I replied, lifting the coconut up out of her reach. Throwing a hard-shelled fruit at the orcs would be so much more satisfying then a mushy pineapple. There was no way I was letting her have this one! "This one's mine!"

"But you got the pineapple!" Rhiannon whined.

It was then that we noticed that our few second lapse of concentration on the important things had hand, meant that we were now surrounded by orcs.

"Nice going," I scowled, glaring at my Elvish sister who at least had the decency to look sort of guilty.