Hey everyone!I'd like to say that this is my first attempt at lotr fanfic, so please, be nice. Also, my first languageis not english,so i apologize for any mistake, feel free to point them out. Aaaand, I'm in my last year in school so I have to study a lot and won't have that much time to write. That's all I think, enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lotr or the hobbit or whatever.

She saw fire.

She saw the trees burning around her, the houses of her people being burned to the ground. Centuries of work being ruined in matters of hours.

There was nothing she could do to help, and really, there wasn't anything her father could either. They had tried to flee, to leave it all behind when the wind had brought the smell of smoke and death, when the whispers of the trees had risen to loud screams of pain and then to a deadly silence. They'd tried. But it was too late, far too late. The flames had been already high in the sky, almost outshining the sun. It took seconds for the fire to reach their city and the inferno to start, because the flames of a dragon are cursed, and their reach are far and wide.

Her people had lived inside the forest for milemnias, ever since the Great Journey and the Sundering of the elves. They had been so blended to the forest that few had known of their kingdom, true, it had never been a great one, but still, it had had great wealth, for a Silvan dwelling. And she had been their Crown Princess.

Yes, she was an elleth. And yes, the right to rule was

to be bestowed upon her. It wasn't very common amongst Men and Noldor, but for the Avari and Silvan folk it was an ordinary thing.

"Raunín!"

The shout that brought her back to reality came from the captain of their small party. They were from the Grey Havens, sent by Círdan to ask council from Lord Elrond, and since she had dwelt long enough in the Falas, she had come along for a stay in the Hidden Valley.

" Raunín! You'd better watch your way." Olochen, the captain adviced in hushed tones. "We're still a day's march from Imladris and evil lurks in the shadows."

" I will." She answered with a huff. " It's just this damn rain that's not helping at all."

" It must pass soon enough, the power of Lord Elrond's ring is strong."

"Well, anytime now would be great." Raunín shot back annoyed, but received only a laugh.

She found it really ironic, though, that it was not the fire or the heat that reminded her of the tragedy, but the rain. It was the storm ragging over their heads that brought the memories afloat. It was the cold tiny drops of water that burned her skin like hell alll over again. It was so much easier to pretend to be somebody else who's scared of nothing and chased their own demons when Anor's high in the sky than when the world seemed to be falling upon them.

" The rain's stoping. See? All in its own time." The captain appeared at her side again, looking way too pleased with himself.

" Very well. But we're still completely soaked."

" Indeed, how perceptive of you. "

" Now, there's no need to sarcasm her-"

"Darto!" Olochen was on alert, followed by the rest of the company in seconds. " Hush everyone."

Then, they rather heard it than see it. The two shadows approaching them, silent and furtive, only the soft hustle of the leaves giving away their presence.

The first though that crossed Raunín's mind was red lights flashing and sirens going crazy, screaming 'danger', 'Yrch'. But a more racional corner of her brain argued that the shadows were too silent and too slim to be orcs. The 'danger' alerts still rang clear in her pointy ears, though, in times like these and so close of Dol-guldûr, yrch wasn't the only ones to be feared.

" Who is it that dared to trespass Lord Elrond's lands?" One of the shadows asked, close enough for a sillhouette to be seen. "Identify yourselves before entering the Last Homely House, are you friend or foe?"

" I'm Captain Olochen Tonkarion, we're from the Grey Havens. Lord Cýrdan sent us to seek advice from your Lord."

" Very well, then." The same one spoke again, stepping out of the dark with his companion.

"Welcome to the Hidden Valley of Imladris, the Last Homely House. My name's Elladan and this is my brother, Elrohir. We're the twins sons of Lord Elrond."

To say that they were shocked would be the understatement of the year. It was common knoledge that the princes of Imladris were hunting orcs ever since their mother passing to Valinor, but actually meeting them ramdomly in the forest was another completely different matter. Elladan and Elrohir were indeed very alike, with the fair and ageless faces of the Eldar and a more solid, less ethereal, body. They had the same dark hair and the same grey eyes, although one had a clearer, lighter, shade of grey in Raunín's opinion .

" It's a pleasure to meet you, my lords." Olochen bowed respectfully, being again followed by the rest of the company.

" You're heading to the Great House, right?" One of the twins, she still wasn't sure wich, spoke up. " Well then, I suggest we all ride the rest of the way together. It's becoming dangerous here and we are all taking the same path, anyway. What do you say, captain?"

" If no one is against it," he waited for everyone to nod their agreements. "I say, we could use the company."

" That's settled then!" The darker-eyed one entusiasticall

y nodded. " I will be back with our horses in a minute."

That's when she felt it. That burning sensation of being watched. She lifted her eyes to find the curious gaze of the remaining twin. He was openly staring at her, studying her, like she was some new animal to be identified and learned about. Raunín held his eyes steadily, doing her best to hide the anxiety bubbling up in her chest. She hated it, being watched so intently. He could reconigze her, or start making too much questions or find out the truth. And that would be unpleasent to say the least.

So she kept their little match, wating for him to back down, to surrender. It didn't matter whose son he was, the twin was being rude and she wasn't going to let it go so easily.

"Raunín?" The captain poked her.

" Aye?"

" You are staring at Lord Elrohír." Oh. So this is Elrohír. Gotta remember who's who. " That's rude of you."

" Actually, he is staring at me," the twin frowned and so did she. There was no way she was going to lose it. " So, that's rude of him."

" You are acting like a five year old kid." She didn't have to look to know that he was rolling his eyes. " Just quit it! It's unnerving. It's like watching two dangerous animals circling each other."

" Oh believe me, mellon nin, i can be quite dangerous and so does he, i'm sure."

" I know," he sighed " and that's unnerving."

He just huffed and walked away, leaving her to focus on the young lord. And it would probably have gone for hours, hadn't Elladan come back and called for his brother. They fumbled with the horses a little before approaching their party again.

" Everyone ready?" The older twin raised his eyebrows and received quiet nods in response. " Let's go then, shall we?"

The young lords rode side by side, leading the way, with Olochen and Raunín close behind and the rest of the company few feets away. She wasn't sure how long they had walked before the twins fell in a slower pace and approached them. Not that she was that happy about it. She was, thought.

" I see you didn't find shelter during the rain." Elladan smiled.

" No, we didn't." Olochen answered quietly. " It caught us off guard. Did you?"

" Aye, we had already reached Adar's borders." " Lucky you." Raunín spoke up. " Rain is quite the understatement. It was more like a raging storm, the end of the world or something."

" You are not really fond of rains, I guess." The older twin laughed. " I don't think i know your name, sun-lover."

" My name is Raunín, " the less they know, the better. " And if you must know, I'm not too fond of frying either."

" You're complicating things, Raunín." He spoke slowly, as if trying it. " No rain, no sun. What's left for you to like then?"

" The snow." She explain. " It will not burn me right away, it will not leave me soaked in seconds, it will just be cool. It's plain and beautiful and fun."

" Yeah, but it will eventually get you soaked, you will end up frostbitten if you're not careful and freeze you to death." Elrohír, who had not opened his mouth until now, smirked. How... annoying.

" Well, yes. But are you always this optimist? It's almost contagious."

" Well, yes. But ate you always this sarcastic?" And there was that smirk again.

She just rolled her eyes and mentally counted to ten, it would be of no use for them to punch him in the face. They still had a day ahead to reach the house itself.

It would be a long journey.

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