A/N: N: I am really, really sorry about the wait. I have been busy with uni and work. I haven't had chance to write anything really on this chapter until now. It is finally finished and since you have waited you get a long chapter. I am also writing the 13th chapter so you will get that very soon to make up for being so late. I will not leave it as long next time. Sorry again but bear with me. Please keep reading and dont forget to review! Thank you to those who are following, and thanks to those who have favourited us, it makes writing this rewarding.

I have created a poll, it is on my profile page. I would love it if you voted for your favourite O/C just to settle an argument between me and my co-writer.

I do not own any of Tolkiens' work or characters, only my own.

Lillieth woke, pain spread across her face. She tried to put her hand to the side of her face and realised her hands were bound together. The ground beneath her was moving quickly and she realised that she was moving and looking down again confirmed that she was upon a horse. She lay across the horse and hands and feet bound together to stop her from moving. The pain in her wrists had returned, the past was no longer a memory. She looked up to see Galdrith sat up right on the horse riding it. As she looked around she noticed she was in another forest, this one not Lórien. It was very familiar it was somewhere she once called home, Mirkwood. A hundred thoughts passed through her mind at once, 'How did he find her?', 'Where was he taking her?', 'Was Nienna ok?'. One thought silenced them all, a name, Haldir. She wanted to be back in the safety of his arms again. She missed the woods of Lórien which had become her home. She missed gossiping with Nienna over lunch. She missed Eärendur and even though she would never admit it she missed being called Penig. She was now in the hands of, what she knew now was evil. She could sense it now fully for the first time, like he wasn't trying to hide it. There was no warmth to him, his heart, black.
"I told you, you were mine. Mine only" the ellon sat behind her spoke. "Now you have made me all the trouble of coming to bring you home".
"I was already home, I was happy there. You bought misery to my life. I can promise you, Haldir and Eärendur will do that to yours" she replied.
"And what will the great March Warden of Lórien or that little lost puppy that follows you around do to me?" he asked in a superior tone.
"They will make you pay" she said just before she spat in his face. He wiped the saliva from his face with an angry expression. He then raised his hand and bought it across her face. She winced at the pain.
"I don't know where you learnt such defiance. But I will make you forget it, you will know your place" he snapped. After a few moments he regained his composure and a sly grin appeared on his face.
"And this, my lady is why I do not fear the March Warden." He said as he turned his horse so she could see what they were approaching. An estate was hidden within the trees and a wall surrounding it with a great wooden gate. What patrolled the walls was what terrified Lillieth, a number of Orcs. She wondered why there were still Orcs in Mirkwood and more importantly why were they guarding the estate of an elf.

Snow had started to fall from the sky so Eärendur thought it be best if they stopped and set up camp for the night. They had made good progress, they followed the tracks all the way through Lórien to the outskirts where the tracks turned to hoof prints. It led them across the Anduin River and towards Mirkwood. For two days they had not stopped and managed to follow the trail toward the outskirts of Mirkwood. Haldir did not want to stop, he knew if the snow continued to fall they would lose the trail. He also knew the longer they took to get to Lillieth, the more pain she would suffer.
"Haldir, we need to stop. Every one of us is tired. Let's rest for tonight and set off at dawn" Eärendur pleaded.
"No, I must carry on. She needs us" he replied. His feelings clouded his judgement. Teren who stood nearby entered the conversation.
"My lord, you are not thinking clearly. If there is a fight at the end of the trail, we will be too tired to be of any use" Teren said.
"You will be no use to her if you aren't rested" Eärendur tried to reason with him.
"Fine but we will move out first thing" he finally gave in and agreed to settle for the night.
An hour had passed and all the tents were set up and a fire in the middle. Haldir, his brothers and Eärendur sat there warming themselves upon the burning wood. The snow was still falling and was starting to stick upon the ground.
"So what will you do to him when we arrive? Will you kill him?" asked Orophin.
"No. I will make him suffer for what he has done. I will let him go but only so I can hunt him down again. When he has suffered enough and begs for death I may give it to him" he explained still staring into the flames of the fire. Teren walked over to where they sat, he overheard what Haldir had just said. He sat down beside his March Warden.
"March Warden, forgive me if I am out of line. You shouldn't take vengeance in this way. Just take her back and if you have to kill him. But succumb to the emotions that you feel now will make you no better than him" Teren said in a hushed voice with his head bowed. Haldir looked at Teren for a moment before standing up and walking towards his tent not saying a word to anyone.
"Congratulations Teren. You have seriously pissed him off now" Rumil said as he took another bite of his Lembas bread.
"That was not my intention." Teren replied "I just do not wish to see him become the monster he is hunting.
"He will never become like that. His duty is important to him. His mind is clouded at the moment but it will become clear again once Lillieth is in his arms" Orophin replied.
"Not if he has hurt Lillieth which is highly likely. Haldir's fury will not be contained and neither will mine" Eärendur added. They then went to their tents to rest for the night as they knew Haldir wouldn't permit them much.

Nienna went to Eärendur's tent, she knew she shouldn't but she wanted to check if he was ok and she needed to speak to him. When she entered he was sat on his bed roll finishing eating his Lembas.
"Do you ever stop eating?" she asked him jokingly.
"I do so long enough to speak with you, is that not good enough" he joked. Nienna took a seat next to him on his bed roll placing an arm around him.
"Are you okay? I know how you must feel being her protector." She asked him.
"I am worried. We needed to rest today and we pushed ourselves too hard. To be any good to Lillieth we needed this break but….." he said before pausing for a while, silence fell upon them. Tears formed in his eyes as he turned to look at Nienna.
"I am afraid there will be nothing left of her when we reach her" he continued.
"The thought of Haldir will help her through. You need to stay strong for her as well. Haldir needs direction at the moment and you are there to give to him. You are from here, Mirkwood was your home. There is no doubt you will be able to find them in the morning" she explained to him.
Eärendur looked away from Nienna to wipe the tears from his eyes, he knew she was right. Nienna sat there with a troubled look on her face.
"Is there something bothering you, Meleth nîn?" Eärendur asked placing his hand upon her arm.
"I am just curious about the little girl, Laessiel. What is going to happen to her?" she asked him.
"I found her alone, her father had been killed. Everyone she knew is dead. When I found her it was like I had found myself. I want to take her in and raise her like I was myself. Except I won't push her to do anything." He said to her hoping to see approval in her eyes. This didn't seem to be the case.
Nienna sat there in shock. What she had just been told was life changing.
"Eärendur you cannot be serious" she exclaimed.
"Why would I not be serious?" he asked.
"Have you thought this through at all?" she asked him in return.
"Of course I have" he replied.
"Ok then maybe you can clear a few things up for me. We have only just started courting, you now wish for me to help you raise a child. A mortal child who cannot pass with us into Valinor which you know we must do eventually. You also wish for us to raise her and become attached then leave her alone in this world again. What will happen if we have children of our own?" she asked furiously.
"Where else would she go? She has not mentioned any other family, no mother, nothing. Her father was all she had. I know what she is going through, yes she seems happy but in the middle of the night when her thoughts wonder she will cry herself to sleep. If I can help ease any of her pain I will. I will not abandon her, I'm sure the Valar will allow her passage with us. As for our own children, why would they not be happy being raised together" he argued back.
"I cannot be a part of this. If you want to raise her you will have to do it without me" she snapped. Eärendur was shocked before his shock turned into a scowl.
"Then go. If you abandon me now you are not the elleth I thought you were" he said to her.
"You are the idiot I knew you were which I hoped you would have grown out of" she replied before leaving his tent.

Galdrith made his way through the gates of his estate, Lillieth still tied up in front of him as he rode through. Inside things were worse than Lillieth could have imagined, there were orcs everywhere. They raised their own small buildings inside of the estate and some were on the walls and some were doing medial jobs. It was then she noticed the main building which she guessed belonged to Galdrith. A large hulking figure made its way towards Galdrith's horse, the mere sight of him terrified Lillieth. He was an Orc but not like the others, he was at least 6 foot tall, and not hunched over or deformed like the others. He had broad shoulders and was very muscular. His black hair tied back and sharp teeth jutting out from under his bottom lip. He looked fierce in every way imaginable. Galdrith noticed Lillieth's stare.
"Impressive isn't he? I believe he is the last of his kind, but perhaps that won't be for long. This is Sagrûrz, my captain. He is my Uruk Hai, the only survivor of his kind from the battle of Helms Deep. " he said to her as he pulled her head back by pulling her hair. It then went through her mind that this is how Haldir had managed to be injured from fighting so many creatures of this kind.
"Sagrûrz, take our guest to her room and make sure she is properly settled. I will be along shortly" Galdrith asked his captain who's reply was something between a snarl and a chuckle.
"As you wish, Lord Galdrith."

The creature carried her to a small room in which there was nothing but a window and shackles on the wall. He untied her and she immediately tried to run but he grabbed her round the throat and growled in her face. Baring all his pointed teeth. She backed away from him but he grabbed her arms and shackled her to the wall.
"Don't try anything with me elf. I will rip your throat out if you try anything like that again" he snarled. It was then that Galdrith entered the room.
"I see you are getting acquainted with Sagrûrz. That pleases me as you will be spending much time together. I will make you my Hervess [wife], don't forget we are still betrothed. You will be the queen at my side when I fill the void the elves will leave when they go to Valinor." He said arrogantly.
"Bedo a Udun! [Go to hell!] I will never marry you. You will not be kind of anything when Haldir and Eärendur kill you" she said defiantly.
"Ah yes, Eärendur will no doubt come, but he has no idea what awaits in this estate. If I am correct he will have no help. The great March Warden of Lórien would not waste his time and leave his home undefended to come and find you. I find it strange that you are obsessed with this idea" he spat.
"Oh Eärendur will have help. As for Haldir he will come for his betrothed" she proclaimed. Galdrith looked shocked before his expression turned sour. He clenched his fists together and lashed out at her, hitting her hard in the stomach, so much that she doubled over in pain, gasping for breath.
"You and the March Warden? How is that tofn onnen hû [low born dog] better than me? I will rip his heart out and show it to you. Before you watch your little pet, Eärendur die too" he snarled through clenched teeth. Lillieth then burst out laughing, much to the surprise of Galdrith.
"And what is so funny?" he snapped.
"I used to be afraid of you, terrified of what you would do. But now that you are here all I feel is disgust and hate, saura deleb le uuan [you putrid loathsome monster]. I do not fear the physical pain anymore; there is nothing you can do to me. I am happy with Haldir, I will suffer in pain until I am reunited with him." She explained to him still laughing. He grabbed her face with force and made her look at him.
"Then I will have to find new ways to cause you pain. I will let him nowhere near you." He growled before walking from the room with Sagrûrz following him, locking the door behind them. She sighed before a tear rolled down her face, she wanted him to feel as though she didn't fear him. She thought of Eärendur and what he would say to him, even though what she said was mild to what he would say, the thought made her smile. She wanted Haldir, she wanted to be in his arms safe.

Sagrûrz and Galdrith stood in his study looking over the map of Mirkwood and the surrounding area.
"Have any more came in since I have been away?" Galdrith asked his captain.
"Yes, 20 my lord. All of them Orcs. I don't understand why these orcs are flocking to you, you found me half dead on the outskirts of Fangorn. I had nowhere else to go and you took me in, that's why I serve you but there were already orcs here when I arrived. Why would they follow you, you are an elf" he asked his master.
"Ah of course, you wouldn't know would you? The orcs that were her before you knew of my existence and my allegiance to Sauron." He explained.
"I do not understand" Sagrûrz asked him.
"Fine, I will explain it to you. This has always been my family home, I am an high born elf. But you see, this place is close to where the evil once stood in Mirkwood. You know of this place." He asked.
"Dol Guldur" Sagrûrz added.
"Correct. My father was stubborn, he refused to move our ancestral home away from the evil. I assumed we were going to be wiped out, but maybe someone came up with a better plan. You see I was always drawn into that place, I would stare in its direction for hours. I never felt like I fitted in with elven life when all I wanted was power. I went to explore one day when I was set upon by two orcs, they bound me and took me to Dol Guldur. I thought I was going to be a meal for them. Imagine my surprise when I was deposited in front of one of the Nazgûl. The one, known as the witch king said that my feä was distorted, but he could teach me to hide that. He also offered me the power I seeked, in return I would keep a watchful eye on Mirkwood and report anything useful to Dol Guldur." Galdrith explained to the Uruk Hai stood before him.
"So they corrupted you?" Sagrûrz asked.
"No they allowed me to be myself" he chuckled. "That is why the orcs are coming here. I am the only master they have left. When word spreads of attacks on the elves, even more orcs will flock here. Maybe even the goblins of Moria. If that happens we can start rebuilding your race. Once the elves leave we will take dominance of these woods." The Uruk Hai smiled.
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, my lord" he said to his master.
"Good, now how many orcs do we have altogether in camp?" Galdrith asked.
"80, my lord. All equipped and ready." He replied.
"Excellent, I'd like to see the great March Warden get in here" Galdrith laughed.