Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. That would be a dream come true!

Author's Note: So I very much need to apologize to all of you who read this story. I am so sorry that I haven't updated since January. That was not intentional. Life got in the way. That and I'll admit I have been putting off this chapter since Annie is very stubborn and working with any kind of softer side for Annie is nearly impossible just because, as you've seen, she doesn't like to admit to those kinds of feelings. Anyway, I hope that, despite all of that, you still enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Nineteen

Annie

I stared at the field that was just beyond the main, and probably only, city in Lothlórien as they called it. I just wanted to grab Jamie by the hand and drag her out of this place. Then again, I also wanted to wake up and find out that this had all been a dream. But none of us get what we want. At least not in my experience. I had wanted someone who could help me protect my sisters. Thea had wanted someone we could trust. Jamie had wanted someone who could take us far, far away.

I suppose, in some sick and twisted way, that last one had finally come true.

"Lady Annie?"

I didn't have to turn around to know that that was Haldir. I didn't want to talk to him, or any of them for that matter. But I knew that he was right behind me and there was no way I was going to be able to avoid him. I could try, but that would likely only annoy him even more and as happy as that would make me, annoyance highs honestly didn't last that long.

I sighed and forced myself to turn around and face him when all that I really wanted to do was tell him to leave me the fuck alone. But that would have been rude and likely gotten me in more trouble then I cared to think about.

Instead, I just stared at him, waiting for him to say something. It took him a moment before he realized that I wasn't going to say anything. "The Lady Galadriel requests your presence in the city."

Whatever I had been expecting him to say, it hadn't been that. I stared at him for several seconds before screwing up my face in confusion. "Really?" I asked. "Or do you mean to say that she wants to see the Fellowship and I'm being included for some odd reason?"

Haldir shook his head. "No, she wishes only to see you," he assured me.

I felt even more confused as I nodded slowly. Why in the world would she want to see someone like me? I hadn't made my dislike for any of them subtle for any reason no matter how nice they had been to me. And while Thea would have told me that I was being unreasonably rude, I kept reminding myself that Thea wasn't with us and every moment we were stuck with these people was a moment we couldn't look for our sister.

I sighed and gestured for Haldir to lead the way and fell in step behind him, wondering what in the world the woman could want from me. Maybe she was going to tell me that they were tired of my behavior. A smirk tipped my lips at that thought. It wouldn't have bothered me. I would have been able to believe it actually.

It was even starting to bother Jamie and her sister had the tolerance of a saint. Some small practical part of her mind said that she should back off but another part reasoned that maybe if they made her go, Jamie would go with her and they could find Thea and the way home. But given the way that Jamie kept looking at Boromir...I didn't want her to have to make that choice and it made me hate them all that much more.

The city really was beautiful. It seemed unreal and I knew that was why I didn't like it. I had never allowed myself to indulge in dreams. Dreams were too dangerous. They gave you false hopes, allowing you to believe in things that would never happen. I hated taking those dreams away from Jamie, but I knew that I couldn't indulge in them. I had to be the practical one in the family. Thea tried to be, but I could see the wistful look in her eyes sometimes. She dreamed almost as much as Jamie did.

And this city was certainly a place of dreams.

Shaking my head, I continued on and up into the trees, using the spiraling staircase that encompassed the tree trunk until I came to the almost chamber like area that we had been shuffled to that first night we had found Jamie. Or that I had found Jamie and the Fellowship had officially taken over my life.

Galadriel stood at the far edge, staring out at nothing that I could see. Haldir bowed to her and without saying another word, went back down the stairs. I considered following him for a few seconds, but knew that I would only sit around wondering why she had wanted to talk to me in the first place. Once I had my answer, then I would be able to get myself to leave without a care.

It seemed like forever before she actually turned to acknowledge me, that knowing smile on her ethereal face. She was like a personification of the city that she apparently ruled, far too perfect for me to trust.

"I thank you for coming to see me Annie," she said inclining her head to me. "I know that you do not wish to be here so I shall try to be brief." Despite her words, she still paused for a moment as if she was trying to find the right words. "There is a strength in relying on one's self, but you should not always be so alone in the world."

My body was stiff instantly and my guard went up. "I'm not alone," I snapped. "I have my sisters. One of which I can't go off to find because Jamie has herself convinced that she can't leave that guy Boromir."

"He is a worthy male," Galadriel said as she took a step closer to me. "You simply refuse to see the worth in anyone besides your own blood."

"Worth?" I laughed bitterly. "I've seen men and women who think that they have worth and I've seen what they do to those who are weaker than them who they think have no worth. I'm not making that mistake again."

Galadriel tilted her head to the side as she studied me. "So you believe that it is only you and your sisters who hold any worth in this world?"

I gaped at her for a moment. It was horrible when she put it that way. But she was wrong about one thing. I didn't count myself as a person of worth. A person of worth would never have allowed their sister to be raped by an adult who was supposed to care for them. I wouldn't have been so afraid.

"You don't know me," I managed instead. "So stop pretending that you do."

Galadriel sighed softly. "I am sorry that you feel that way Annie and I hope that one day…these things shall change."

I bit back a sharp retort that I might have given to anyone else and just turned away instead. I needed to find Aragorn. Maybe he would be in the mood for a sparring lesson. I could use with the workout.