"There is Dol Guldur." Ryna said to her brother. She had never seen it, but she knew what it looked like. She had almost been taken there when Golum escaped. Sauron had wanted her then, to keep her from helping end the war. He may have also wanted more which she refused to think about.

"Looks quiet."

"Looks can be deceiving." She said. "When Gandalf came here, he was ambushed by the Orcs that occupied these ruins and was captured for a time. This could be more of the same."

"Didn't Sauron hide the Orcs?" Elrohir asked, concerned.

"Yes," she answered. "And he could be doing the same now. Step careful."

Eleryna pulled her cloak close around her and began walking down to the ruins. Elrohir followed cautiously. He was prepared for her to go into another fit. He knew that their grandmother had cleansed the ruins after the war had ended, before they had even known that she was injured. But even though she had been told that, she didn't believe a word of what she had been told. This was something she needed to see for herself. She needed to see that this war was over. Once she had seen that, she would be able to heal from the poison and magic. It was only after he had pulled her from the dark fires of Sauron would she be able to heal. He could see the faint traces of his grandmother's light on the stones and he didn't feel the malice that he had when fighting near Mordor. But he had no idea what Ryna was seeing. She could be seeing the shadows of the ruins around her as they used to be.

"Do you see anything?" He asked after a time. They were walking towards the deeper dungeons of the ruins. She didn't say anything for a minute, as if trying to figure out what she was seeing.

"Nothing," she sighed in defeat. "There is nothing up here. Let's go farther down." She moved forward and he stopped her.

"How can you be sure there is something down there?" He turned her to face him, securing her in place with his hands on her shoulders. This was going to be one time that he would have to go against her delusion that Sauron lived. "When Sauron was forced from Mordor, Grandmother came here and cleansed these pits. I know she has told you as much. She was the one who forced from here just before the war, when she rescued Gandalf. There are traces of her magic here. Please tell me that you can feel that."

"I feel her magic here." Eleryna admitted. "But,"

"But nothing, Ryna." He interrupted. "Sauron couldn't fight against her magic then and he can't fight against it now. Her magic went down to the deepest pits. There is nothing there."

"There are traces of dark magic here." She said. "They're mingled with hers."

"No, Ryna. They are not. There is only the light magic that Grandmother wields."

"Please, maybe there is a clue to where he went."

"No, Ryna. We are not going deeper into these ruins. We have been all over these upper floors. There is no need to go into the dungeons." He led her to the entrance and the bridge. Even though he knew that his grandmother had cleansed the ruins, they unnerved him. They were having an effect on her and he couldn't have that. He needed to save her, not drive her farther into the darkness. He didn't know what Sauron had done to her, but Elrohir hoped the Dark Lord had not done anything to her like he had done with his ring. Though, he feared that some of Sauron's spirit might have seeped into her. He needed to know what had happened to her during the journey after Helm's Deep.

"But I don't know where else to look." She whispered. "Everyone claims that Mordor has been destroyed. And he wouldn't stay there after you've gotten in to save me once. He would find a place that was impenetrable so he could capture me again."

"If that were the case, look how easy we got in here. That means he is not here. Maybe he is elsewhere. Perhaps he has gone back to Mordor and rebuilt it without Gondor knowing."

She didn't say anything and he picked her up. She was light, much lighter than she should have been. He carried her up to where they had left their packs and looked into hers. She had no food except for a small piece of lembas bread left. How had he not seen it? He had only seen her eat a small bite of lembas each day. Just one little bite. One bite was supposed to be enough to feed an adult Elf for an entire day. But she had not been taking a normal bite. The bites had been small. Maybe only nibbles. Concerned, he checked her wounds, starting with the one on her cheek. It was inflamed. He had dried athelas, but it wouldn't do any good to her now in its current state. He gingerly lifted the edge of her tunic and saw the scar on her chest was also inflamed. He couldn't do anything for her here. The bath houses of Lórien would be best as they had no windows for the aroma of the athelas to escape. Not to mention that their grandmother was too far away to help them now. He had no way to cross the river this far south.

Thranduil. His sister's father-in-law should be able to help them. The first Morgul wounds she had ever received were under the trees of Mirkwood. She had been saved because athelas grew near the palace. He had heard Legolas tell the Lord of Rivendell that they had planted it in the palace garden just in case it was ever needed again. Now would be a good time for that. Elrohir knew the general direction the palace was in. He just hoped he could find it in time to save his sister.

Thranduil watched the forest path below. He had not seen his children since they had left to tell Elrond of the creature's escape. He had only gotten a letter from his son that he had decided to go with the Ring Bearer on his quest to destroy the Ring. That had been done, according to Celeborn. It had been almost a year since then. He thought that they would have returned by now. Perhaps Eleryna was taking on more of her grandmother's duties and Legolas elected to stay with her. It made sense but they could have at least sent a letter saying they were safe and unhurt.

Movement on the path took the king from his thoughts about his son and his wife. He looked closely and saw a blonde head. It was Eleryna. He looked up the path for a second, knowing his son wouldn't be far behind. When he didn't see one, he looked at Eleryna again. Now that she was on the bridge and near the gates, he could see that she was being carried by a dark haired Elf. This was odd. He left the window and went down to the gates. He wanted to know what was going on and where his son was. He feared the worst knowing that Eleryna was hurt. So what had happened to his son?

Thranduil met the two at the gates and saw Eleryna was unconscious. He noticed her cheek scar was inflamed and felt her head. She was burning with a fever. He looked at the Elf who carried her and noticed slight similarities, mainly their eyes. He shared the blue that was present in hers. This had to be one of the twin sons of Elrond, one of her brothers. The king called for the healers to ready athelas water and led the siblings to a windowless room where Eleryna was left in the care of the healers. Thranduil took his daughter's brother to the dining hall where he called for food for them.

"Tell me your name, Elf."

"I'm sorry, my Lord. I thought you would recognize me. I am Elrohir, Eleryna's brother."

"I do not think I had the pleasure of talking with you before when you would come to visit your sister." Thranduil answered. "Where is my son?"

"Lothlórien as far as I know." Elrohir took a drink of the water. "My Lord, I know you have been told that your son followed the Ring Bearer on his quest. That was right after the council, before things happened. My family has a special gift that, at times, we cannot control. I guess this happened immediately after the council or during it and whatever my sister saw convinced her to take the Ring herself."

"So she became the Ring Bearer. That does not explain why my son is not with her or what is wrong with her now."

"I have not finished. Carrying the Ring took its toll on my sister. But even before that, she had been a target of evil. Sauron had a second plan that involved using her to regain physical form. We didn't know this until she was unconscious in Minas Tirith after her fight with Sauron who had taken and possessed the body of the Captain of Gondor. She was gravely injured which had left an opening for Sauron's dark magic to try to take her. I fear there are still remnants within her and these are attacking her mind. She believes that he still lives. Everyone, including Legolas, has told her that he is dead. She is taking it as they don't believe her and that they believe her crazy. I have refused to tell her otherwise and so she trusts me above the rest."

"I see. So that is what drove the two of you here."

"I would have taken her back to Lórien had that been closer. But she was convinced that Sauron had once again taken up refuge in Dol Guldur and insisted we check there. That's when she fell ill. She had taken very little food with her when she left as well."

"Why do you go on with the delusion? Why not tell her the truth if she trusts you so much?"

"If I tell her the truth, she will turn on me. It is her mind, not her heart that controls her. Her heart may know the truth, but her mind is fighting with Sauron's magic and whatever piece of his soul he forced into her. She needs this journey to help her see that he is indeed gone."

"Where will you go from here?"

"I am going to wait and see what she remembers when she wakes. If she still believes that Sauron lives, then we will go to Mordor to find a clue as to where he has gone. If she believes that he has been destroyed, I will take her back to my father to heal from the poison." Elrohir didn't say anything else as he finished his food and took his leave of the king to be with his sister. Thranduil said nothing and thought. It made sense now why Galadriel had left suddenly during the negotiations and why he hadn't heard from his son in the past year. But he needed to send word to him.

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