A/N: Hey, everybody! I'm glad I finally got a chance to sit down and write again! :) Hopefully I'll be able to finish this story by the end of this year, but no promises! You never know how much free time you'll have, with the holidays coming up and all. Either way, here's a new chapter for ya! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except for Íverin. Don't sue me! T^T

A few days later, we set out from Edoras. Legolas and I had not spoken since the night of my worst nightmare. I tried to forget about him, but too often I found myself glancing over at him as we traveled. Several times I caught him watching me, too. I tried my best to keep myself occupied so I would stop thinking about him, but it was more difficult than I imagined. Many times I wondered if I really had made the right decision or not.

The only other thing that was on my mind was Gondor. A feeling of dread came over me when I thought about how close we were to my homeland. I had no idea how my return would affect things, if it affected anything at all. Would they lift the banishment out of the kindness of their hearts? Or would they send me away, forcing me to return home? I would never be able to forgive myself if I turned back now. The feeling of failure might be even worse than being executed.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I did not notice when a certain blonde elf rode up beside me. He said nothing for a while, but when he finally did speak, I could hear the hurt in his voice. "Why did you leave me?"

I could not bring myself to look at him just yet. "Legolas, please. I do not wish to talk about it."

"Please, Íverin. For me."

"It would only be another burden for you to bear. And it is not anything that should concern you."

He paused. I finally looked up at him, and he looked a bit angry. "Why do you refuse to tell me anything?" he said in frustration. "You know everything there is to know about me. Can I not know something about you?"

I looked at him sternly. "That would depend on what you would like to know."

"All right, then. Tell me about your past, since you know so much about mine."

I stiffened slightly. "You already know that. I am an elf-maiden of Rivendell."

He stared me down. "Are you? You do not always act like them. You are different. The way you speak, the way you think. Why?"

I returned his cold stare for a few minutes, then finally looked away. I could not tell him...could I? No no, it would be too risky. Who knows what me might do. Who he might tell. What his father might do. It would be foolish to say anything at this point, especially since we were merely companions now. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. He must have thought that I was not going to say anything, because he was looking the other way.

Elrond had specifically told me to tell no one about my past. He said that none could be trusted. But...if even Legolas could not be trusted...no. He could be trusted. I just did not want to put his well-being at risk. However, if I didn't say something, he might hate me for the rest of his life. I did not want that either.

I stared down at Hasufeld's black mane. "My mother was a Wood-Elf like you. She was of Lothlórien, but was never anyone special. She had lived in those woods all her life, just as any normal Elf would have. And then, one day...she met my father. From the moment she saw him, she knew in her heart that he was special. But he was different. He was a well-known man in his home; a messenger of Gondor. He had lived in the city of Osgiliath since he was a young lad. Eventually, they married, and my mother left her home and moved down to the city on the river to live with my father, and they had me. Their only daughter. A...a half-blood." I certainly hoped Legolas was listening and hadn't already left my side, but I still could not bear to look him in the eyes again.

"Three months after I was born, we were attacked by bandits, and there my mother was slain. My father decided to take me and go live in Minas Tirith, hoping we would be safe there with the rest of his family. But it was not so. Just after we arrived there, he caught a terrible illness that had no cure." I bit my lip. "...He knew he was going to die. So he contacted two of his closest and most trusted friends and asked them to take me to live in Rivendell, under custody of Lord Elrond. I arrived there safely, and Elrond adopted me as his niece, raising me with the help of his children. He told me all of this on my eighteenth birthday, since I remember none of it myself.

A few years ago, while Aragorn was hunting Gollum, he sent word to me, asking if I would aid him in his search by going back to Minas Tirith to see if they had heard word of the vile creature's whereabouts. I obliged, thinking that it would be a simple task. But it was not. For the day that I finally arrived at the gates of the White City, I discovered that Lord Denethor had heard some...mixed opinions...on the reason of my leaving the country, and had banished me from his lands, under pain of death. I returned to Rivendell immediately, and have never gone back to that city since. You know the rest of the tale from there."

Neither of us spoke for awhile. I took a shaky breath and looked over at him. "Now we're even."

He looked back at me with concern. "A half-blood...it makes perfect sense. I do not know why I never thought of that before." Legolas frowned again. "And you thought...you thought that my father..."

"I was afraid that he would hurt you if he found out about us, as he did to your sister," I said. "And I still am."

"May I ask you something?" he said. I nodded. No point in hiding anything else now. "What were your parents like?"

I closed my eyes. That was a painful one to answer. "I do not know anything about them, Legolas," I whispered, "not even their names."

"I am sorry," he said quickly. "I should not have asked."

There was another span of silence. "Well?" I said. "Now do you understand why we cannot be together?"

His raised an eyebrow. "What ever made you think that?"

I blinked. Was he joking? "Have you forgotten about your father? About me being who I am?"

Legolas smiled. "I love you, Íverin. Nothing is ever going to keep me from that. My father will have to learn that one way or another. We both agreed that I was never to have an arranged marriage, so he cannot choose who I give my heart to.'

"But...your sister, she...Legolas, I would rather live the rest of my life alone to see you get hurt like that."

"My father would not dare do that again. I am the only heir he has left. If he drives me away, then he has no one to take the throne in his place. And even if he would try to harm me, there is no law stopping me from leaving Mirkwood if I need to."

I stared at him, wide-eyed. "You would give up the crown...for me?"

He reached over and took my hand. "Of course I would, Cala."

"But...why?"

"Because I love you. You could even be part Dwarf, and even that would not separate us."

I laughed a bit, and finally gave in and leaned over to kiss him.

His smile widened. "I take it that we are together again?"

I nodded. "Yes. Yes we are."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After a few days of riding, we arrived at our campsite, under the shadow of a great mountain in the late afternoon. Tents were set up and scattered about, and Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and I were given our own private one, not far from where the King resided.

Several groups of men had already arrived, and the King was overwhelmed with reports of those accounted for as soon as he entered the campgrounds. I managed to slip easily through the chaotic crowds of soldiers, tied Hasufeld down outside our tent, and stepped inside. It was not anything particularly special, as I had expected, just four simple beds spread out neatly on the grass, with two thick blankets and fluffed pillows each, and a few currently unlit torches placed here and there, to allow light.

I poked my head out the door to make sure no one was coming, and then, ducking back inside, changed quickly and quietly from my worn, dirtied, navy-blue traveling clothes and leather gloves and boots, to a clean, pale red dress with a deeper red sash tied around my waist and trailing behind me to the ground. I balled up my old clothes and tossed them aside. I would have to get those washed later.

As I began brushing through my hair, Aragorn stepped in. "Ah, there you are! Legolas wondered where you went."

I smiled. "Did he now?"

"Yes, and you had better go find him before he starts to worry." He chuckled. "That elf would likely tear the camp apart to find you if he gets too paranoid."

I laughed. "All right, all right, I'm going." I finished combing the tangles from my long, brown hair and looked myself over. It was not until then that I noticed how long my hair had grown since we'd left Rivendell so long ago. When this whole adventure had started, it had just slightly passed my shoulders. Now it reached all the way down to just below my chest. I sighed and left the tent. I ran around the area for a bit, weaving through the mass of tents and other people, enjoying the tickle of the soft, warm grass on my toes.

Finally, I found who I was looking for. "Legolas!"

The blonde turned around, and his eyes lit up with joy as soon as he saw me. I ran right into him, and he caught me in a hug. "I have been looking for you, love," he laughed. I stepped back, and he smiled. "You look beautiful."

I blushed and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." I was about to say more, when I suddenly noticed something in the mountain off in the distance, behind him. A...a crevice? No, that wasn't the word to describe it. It was more like...a gap. Like someone had taken a knife and cut through the mountainside. A few scraggly shrubs grew in the rubble that formed a small path in the gap, but I could not see anything other than that, for the air was shrouded in mist and shadow. An unwelcome chill came over me as I looked at it. It felt like there was some evil being waiting in the gloom.

Gimli came up beside us and noticed it as well. "That road there...where does that lead?"

"It is the road to the Dimholt, the door under the mountain," Legolas said grimly.

Now Éomer chimed in. "None who venture there ever return. That mountain is evil." He glanced at it warily and walked away.

I looked back up at Legolas. "I do not understand. What is the door under the mountain?"

"I do not wish to speak of it now. It would only dishearten you. The only thing you need to know is...to stay away. Especially if you fear ghosts."

"Ghosts?" Gimli exclaimed. "If there be ghosts hidin' away in that mountain, then why are we stayin' so close to it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come now, Gimli. You cannot seriously tell me that you think ghosts are real."

Legolas looked at me with curiosity. "You do not believe in them?"

"Of course not! All of that 'evil spirits haunting the living' talk is just a bunch of children's stories for stormy nights. I will never believe that foolishness."

"Either way," the dwarf said, "I certainly won't be goin' any closer to that mountain than I have to."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

I was sitting with Legolas by the fire, wrapped up in a warm blanket, singing old elvish songs that I had learned when I was young to the men of Rohan, when I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I stopped mid-note and turned to see King Théoden standing over me. "Do me a favor, my dear. Please find your cousin, and tell him that I need to see him in my private quarters," he whispered in my ear. Without another word, he left.

I watched him go, puzzled for a moment, then stood, dropping my blanket. "Sorry, everyone, but I am afraid I must leave." I smiled to myself as I saw looks of disappointment on their faces. "But I should return shortly." I quickly gathered up the skirt of my dress and stepped over the large log that I had been sitting on, then started to make my way back to our own tent. If my memory served me correctly, Aragorn had stayed behind while the rest of us went to sing around the fire.

I poked my head between the thick canvas sheets. Sure enough, there he was, lying on his back, fast asleep. But something in his expression told me he was dreaming, and not a very good dream, either. He twisted and turned in his bed, mumbling something about Arwen. Suddenly, he cried out and sat up, whipping his knife out of his belt, breathing heavily. "Aragorn?" I said quietly. "Are you all right?"

He sighed and lowered his weapon. "Sort of. Is something wrong?"

"King Théoden requests that you meet him in his personal tent."

Aragorn merely nodded and got up, pulling on his boots and striding out quickly. I was about to return to the campfire, but something in the back of my mind told me to follow him. Soundlessly, I trailed him, until we both finally arrived at the King's tent. He stepped inside.

I knew it was to be a private meeting, but I could not help myself. I slipped into the shadows between Théoden's tent and the one next to it, remaining unseen by the guards, and gently touched my pointed ear to the canvas, listening.

The first thing I heard was the voice of Théoden himself. "I take my leave."

I frowned. Why did he want Aragorn to come to his tent if he was leaving as soon as my cousin arrived? Out of the corner of my eye,

Now Aragorn spoke. "My Lord Elrond."

I frowned even more, now well beyond confused. What in the world was going on?

Sure enough, I heard my foster-uncle's firm voice. "I come on behalf of one whom I love."

It took all my willpower not to burst in there and embrace him hard.

"Arwen is dying. She will not long survive the evil that now spreads from Mordor. The light of the Evenstar is failing. As Sauron's power grows, her strength wanes. Arwen's life is now tied to the fate of the Ring. The Shadow is upon us, Aragorn. The end has come."

"It will not be our end, but his!" Aragorn replied defiantly.

"You ride to war, but not to victory," Elrond said. "Sauron's armies march on Minas Tirith, as you know, but in secret, he sends another force which will attack from the river. A fleet of corsair ships sails from the south. They will be in the city in two days."

My heart sunk. More enemies? But...we were already so low on men! There was no way...

"You are outnumbered, Aragorn. You need more men."

"...There are none," Aragorn said sadly.

"There are those who dwell in the mountain."

The familiar chill crept back into my heart. The Dimholt Road.

Whatever was in there, Aragorn was apparently appalled by them. "Murderers. Traitors!" he hissed. "You would call upon them to fight? They believe in nothing! They answer to no one!"

"They will answer to the King of Gondor!"

There was a brief silence. The curiosity was killing me. What did that gloomy path lead to?

Elrond spoke again. "Anduril, the Flame of the West, forged from he Shards of Narsil!"

My eyes widened. Many a time had I seen that shattered blade in the halls of the House of Elrond.

"Sauron will not have forgotten this sword," Aragorn whispered. There was the shhing of the sword being unsheathed. "The Blade that was Broken...shall return to Minas Tirith."

"The man who could wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth! Put aside the Ranger. Become who you were born to be. Take the Dimholt Road."

That was all I needed to hear. I slipped out from my hiding spot, not caring anymore about being seen. I charged through the camp, running as fast as my feet could carry me. Twice I got lost and had to turn around and go back. After quite a bit of running, I finally found the fireplace where we had been sitting. Thankfully, Legolas was still there. I grabbed him by the arm. "We must leave, now!" Upon seeing the confused looks of the Rohirrim, I slipped into using the Sindarin tongue. "Aragorn sen gwannoen canad i Dimholt rathen. Est erreth suro be hîn (Aragorn is leaving for the Dimholt Road. We must go with him)."

Legolas was confused, but did not resist as I pulled him back to our quarters with me. "Cethen? Sira sen hîn paranië elen? (What? Why is he doing this?)"

"Laleth sen lau nostor canad nî tad herrenîth. Námo...munéin nî (There is no time for me to explain. Just...trust me)." We arrived back at the tent. I slipped inside, and with a sinking heart, realized that Aragorn's things were missing. "He must have gone to get Corror already. We must hurry!" Not caring if Legolas saw me in my undergarments anymore, I quickly pulled off my dress and exchanged it for my freshly washed traveling clothes. When I turned back around, Legolas had also replaced his normal green tunic, and was currently putting on his boots. I reached for mine as well. "Where is Gimli?" I asked.

"I do not know. He left the fire a few moments before you arrived to go find a bite to eat, of course," he laughed softly.

I gave my leather boots a good yank. One down, one to go. The thought of leaving my dwarven companion behind broke my heart. "Perhaps we should take his things with us, in case we should find him on our way to meet Aragorn." I pulled the other boot on and began tying my belt around my waist.

"Íverin!" I turned around mid-knot, and Legolas handed me my bow. I slung it over my back and finished tying, strapping knives to my belt quickly, and started throwing anything I saw into my leather bag. Slinging my quiver across my back, I lept up and hurried out.

"Cala, wait!" I stopped just outside the tent. "Are you sure you are not forgetting something?" came Legolas's voice from inside.

I looked myself over. I was wearing all my clothes, right?

A moment later, a slender hand popped out, holding a dark brown bundle. "Your bag," he said.

I grabbed it as he came out. "Thanks. Do you have Gimli's things?"

Legolas nodded. "Almost everything remained untouched in his small bag, save for his gloves and helmet. Would you mind carrying his axe?"

"Not at all." I took it from him. "Are the horses still around the back?"

"Yes. I will go get them."

I smiled when I saw Hasufeld and Arod come out from around the tent, with Legolas gently leading them. Hasufeld nuzzled me, and I stroked his mane softly. "Hello, friend." Turning back to Legolas, I said, "Come. We must catch him before he leaves!" We broke off running again, the horses trailing behind us.

"Wait!" Legolas cried.

I whipped around. "What now?"

He pointed behind us. "It's that way."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Thankfully, we spotted Gimli just as we came up to where Aragorn was standing, securing the reins on his own horse. "Gimli!" I shouted. He turned around, and I tossed him his axe.

He caught it smoothly. "What's this?" he said as Legolas walked up and handed him his things. "Have ya been rootin' through my belongings while I been gone?"

"I am sorry, friend. But Aragorn plans to leave without us, and I thought you might want to join us in coming with him," I explained.

The dwarf raised a bushy eyebrow. "Is that so?" He spun on his heel and strode up to Aragorn. "And where do ya think you're goin'?"

Aragorn shook his head. "Not this time, Gimli. This time you must stay."

Legolas came up beside him, leading the horses. "Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of Dwarves?"

I also chimed in. "You are not going anywhere without me, Aragorn."

"And if she goes, then so do I," Legolas replied.

"Ya may as well accept it," Gimli said. "We're goin' with ya, laddie."