The Festival wasn't the bright cacophony Artemis would have liked but the food was wonderful, the drinks plentiful and the music danceable. Tracey was dancing with Legolas while Gandalf managed to keep up with Galadriel as they whirled and twisted through the other elven couples. Artemis was sitting at a table drinking and watching the dancing her foot tapping to the beat. The music was lively and laughter was in the air. All present for the festivities clapped their hands and stamped their feet to the beat. Tracey kept up her pace with the music and all the excitement made her cheeks flush and heat rise to her face as she danced with Legolas. She laughed and smiled as they passed from one dance to another, but she did notice after some time that Artemis was staying at the table. Shaking her head, she knew that she was going to have to rectify this and with a quick smile to Legolas the music ended and they stepped off the dance floor.

"Oh no no no, this won't do." Tracey said, taking Artemis's hand and forcefully pulling her to her feet. "I'm not letting you sit on your butt all night and not dance with me."

Tracey wasn't going to take no for an answer and laughed while the next song started and she spun Artemis around in a circle and standing off to her side. She started out slowly with her feet and directed her to follow suit until she got it and by that time he rest of the She-Elves had joined them. The other Elves clapped as they danced and Tracey looked over at Artemis to make sure she was enjoying herself too. Artemis was grinning, eyes sparkling as she danced with Tracey then the song changed and more Elves hurried onto the floor. Soon Artemis was being passed from one dancer to the next only briefly intersecting with Tracey while they danced. Once the song stopped Artemis skipped off the dance floor to take a drink of wine. Tracey was not surprised to see a handful of the younger elves cluster around her asking her to dance. She joined them for the next few sets then took a break standing next to Gandalf while she caught her breath. Tracey had more stamina and could keep up with the Elves but Artemis was feeling winded, Gandalf smiled down at her and patted her shoulder. "It's a wondrous thing to watch isn't it?"

Artemis smiled. "And even better to participate in."

He chuckled then sobered a little. "The dwarves are recovering rapidly. We will have to make a decision about them soon."

She nodded and waved at Tracey as she whirled by. "I'll join you for the next set!" She called then glanced sidelong at Gandalf. "I know Kili at least won't be any trouble, especially if that letter I sent Tauriel gets her here in a hurry. Thorin is another matter. Have you heard from Elrond yet?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. Never fear, I will keep the dwarves here by force if need be, it might not be the elves way, but I have no such limitations."

Artemis nodded. "I understand."

The song ended and another began and Artemis grinned at him and jumped into the dance snatching Tracey from Legolas with a laugh. "I had her first!" She teased and twirled Tracey away.

Tracey quickly blew Legolas a kiss before she completely lost sight of him and laughed whole-heartily as she and Artemis twirled and danced arm in arm on the dance floor. It was a very merry festival and she felt her spirits lifted with the music as it continued. She clapped her hands as she and Artemis danced and other times joined hands with other Elves as they switched partners and continued. After two or three more songs, Tracey left the floor laughing, hand over her stomach as she laughed and smiled happily. Her feet were starting to tire and so she put her wings to work, hovering over the floor and making sure she had a wide circle around her so she didn't accidentally blow someone over. She acquired a cup of water and then plopped herself in a chair, sipping on the water until she could get her second wind and then she'd go in for another bout of songs.

"Lady Galadriel certainly knows how to throw a festival." She mused quietly, watching the rest of the proceedings for a time with a smile on her lips.

Artemis sat next to her breathing hard. "She does at that."

She sipped from a glass of wine then looked at Tracey. "So… It looks like we'll be here a while longer and even though the dwarves are recovering they still have a way to go. I was thinking of taking them out into the woods one at a time. Get them out of that room and maybe do some hunting. If Fili has to eat one more salad I think he might do something violent."

Tracey laughed and clapped her hands, knowing that Artemis was right and that she could relate to how they were probably feeling. Back in their world it wasn't uncommon for Tracey to start her workday at 7 am and then finish her work day at around 6 or 7 pm, but that was just the beginning for her. As soon as she got home, she would pull some crafting projects together and then hunker down in her nesting area and start working until well into the night, then repeat it all over again until there was a convention that they had to be in. This cycle would be repeated for weeks and months at a time, where she didn't leave the apartment and this always concerned Artemis, but Tracey didn't seem to mind, though it wasn't really healthy.

"I'll take them out fishing or try to find some rabbit when they're ready so at least they can have some type of protein." She said with a laugh and placed her cup on the table. "You could make up some rabbit stew of something tasty and put that together with some bread, cheese, fruit and other pastries... Mmm that sounds so good!"

Tracey couldn't help but laugh again and then she got a sudden idea. Standing up, she started to collect plates, cups, a flask of wine, and selected several different foods from the table, including some dessert. These she put on a large tray and then placed a cloth over it all to keep it fresh. Looking up at Artemis, she smiled figuring that she had been watching her the entire time.

"What?" She asked, shaking her head and stepping closer to whisper in her ear. "Just because they're bedridden doesn't mean they can't at least enjoy the festivities too. Besides, think of this as a slight peace offering for the disagreement we had a night or two ago."

Artemis smiled. "I'll stay here so people don't go looking for us."

When Tracey got to the low building she could hear Kili and Fili talking in low voices about Kili's decision to follow Artemis and Tracey's plan. Thorin was oddly silent but it didn't worry Tracey much, he was a taciturn soul who seemed to save his words. When she opened the door all three were sitting up in bed, Kili and Fili had pipes out and Thorin sat staring into the shadows as if they held the secrets of the world.

Tracey fluttered her wings a bit after she closed the door behind her, folding them behind her back so she didn't take up quite as much room with them open. She gave each of them a kind smile and placed her tray on the table, pulling off the cloth that covered their food.

"Good evening, my friends. I trust that you are resting well." Tracey said, waving her hand over the three plates and causing them to levitate to them while she popped the top off the flask of wine and poured the three cups for them. "Hopefully you won't have to be resting for too much longer for Artemis has been thinking of something for you all can do while you're still recovering, but please eat first and then we'll talk more."

She delivered the wine to each Dwarf and then sat down in a chair, her fingers folded in her lap and eyes blinking lazily as she regarded each of them while they ate. Kili seemed relieved at the interruption and Fili looked curious. "What did you have in mind?" He asked after he'd swallowed a pastry whole.

Thorin looked a little curious as well as he picked at his own food. "Nothing too strenuous I can assure you of that." Tracey answered, a small smile playing on her lips. "Artemis suggested taking you out of the Woods for a while, as you regain your strength of course. I think the first leisurely activity could be hunting for rabbits, I know Artemis makes a mean rabbit stew or perhaps fishing... unless that would be too stressful. I wouldn't know because I've never been fishing before." She shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head to the side.

Thorin made a disgruntled noise but Kili grinned. "Fishing! I haven't been fishing in years."

Fili grinned. "Not since Nerris pushed you into the lake when you told her her eyebrows were too thin."

Kili laughed. "She'd plucked them down to pencil lines, they were too thin."

Thorin shook his head. "You talk of the past when our future is so uncertain."

Tracey's hazel eyes turned to Thorin and she raised an thin eyebrow at him, shaking her head. She pushed some hair out of face and back behind her pointed ears, sighing while she did so.

"At least the past can hold some comfort." She replied, resting her elbow on the chair and her chin on her palm. "And women prefer to be told they're pretty, unless they ask you to be honest Kili and then you should only tell them a half truth or at least warn them that they may not like the answer they receive."

Fili laughed harder. "He never did get the hang of compliments but that was the only time his honesty got him dunked in a lake."

Kili grinned and tossed the hard rind of the cheese he'd been eating at Fili. Tracey giggled lightly at the mental image her mind had brought forth of the Dwarf being pushed into a lake by a similarly built Dwarf female.

"Then it is settled." Tracey said quietly, rising to her feet again and fluttering her wings a bit to smooth them out. "Perhaps tomorrow morning, say just before noonday, I will take Kili fishing and then we shall proceed in shifts. That way no one will be left out and everyone will get some fresh air. Does anyone have any objections?"

She didn't expected Kili or Fili to voice any negative thoughts, but Thorin might, but she really wouldn't care if he did or not.

"Why shifts?" Fili asked setting his now empty plate aside.

Tracey looked back at him and leaned against the frame of the door so she could regard him, her arms crossed under her chest as she explained.

"There are only a select few Elves that know you're here in the Wood, including myself, Artemis and Gandalf... Oh and Tauriel too, Artemis sent a letter to her so she should be making an appearance soon." She said, giving him a smile. "We don't want to influence the future too much so the fewer who know that you're alive the better it is for everyone in the long run."

Thorin made a disgusted sound. "You claim to know the future and do nothing to stop any atrocities. You think to deprive me of my rightful place with no proof that you know what you claim to. You are a fraud."

The silence in the room suddenly became thick and eerie, to the point where it could be cut with a sharp knife. At first Tracey didn't register what he had said and then it hit home and her temper flared, worse than it had in Ancient Greece when Hercules had suggested that Artemis would take lives needlessly just because she had the power to if she wanted. Tracey's wings jutted out and made her look taller and more intimidating. She was standing with her feet evenly beneath her and hands clenched into fists until her knuckles turned white from her anger. Her eyes suddenly blazed and turned completely black, the lantern light flickered dangerously and grew brighter every moment.

"You speak of things you know nothing about, stubborn Dwarf." She seethed through clenched teeth, her voice low and clear so nothing she said could be missed by any of them. "You think of no one but yourself and that is why you were so easily subdued by the accursed gold like your grandfather. You saw it consume him and did nothing to stop it, it destroyed your kin and corrupted them to the point they could no longer be helped."

She could see his face contort in anger and he opened his mouth to snap back at her, but she drew her hand back toward herself and the air was sucked from his mouth, causing him to cough and gasp fitfully.

"I haven't finished speaking and you will hold your tongue until I am finished." Tracey barked, her tone growing colder. "I didn't ask to be sent from one World to another to fix the mistakes of a higher being whom Artemis and I know nothing about. Like you, we shouldn't meddle with the future because for every action there is an opposite and greater reaction. By trying to avoid a disaster or stop it completely the consequence could rip apart the world as we know it. Artemis and I don't even know what affect our being here could have on this world, but let me make something perfectly clear to you... I have sacrificed too much as it is to be slandered by a pretentious Dwarf, who owes his very life to Artemis, one of the other people you call a fraud. You should be humbled, even grateful that we're here trying to help at all."

The silence stretched on for what seemed like a short eternity before Kili spoke his voice tiny in the tense silence. "Thank you, for making us understand why we must be circumspect. I'm sure my Uncle will think before he makes such… unfounded accusations. I think it must be the confinement. We are not used to being bedridden and it seems to have made him... intemperate."

Fili let out a breath he wasn't even fully aware he'd been holding. "We'll be sure to thank Artemis when we see her again."

Thorin's jaws seemed to have been glued shut by Traceys diatribe and a tap on the glass startled them all. Artemis was trying to get racey's attention without being too obvious. "I accept your apology." Tracey replied after a moment and let out a sigh, folding her wings again and letting go of the power she had been holding onto till her eyes returned to their normal Hazel color. "Rest now, I'll come back tomorrow before noonday."

She turned on her heel and left, shutting the door behind her before looking at Artemis.

"Sorry my sweet, I didn't mean to take so long."

Artemis gave her a quizzical look and inclined her head towards the festival where Lord Elrond was greeting Galadriel. Arwen was standing beside him. "I thought you might want to say hi to Arwen."

"They came all the way from Rivendell?!" Tracey asked, a smile returning to her face at the mention of her best Elven friend. "What are we waiting for?! Come on Artemis!"

Grabbing her hand, Tracey tried everything in her power to make Artemis walk faster, even trying to lift her into the air, but unfortunately that didn't work. She couldn't even lift her off the ground till she was just standing on her tiptoes, though it was a sight to see. Tracey laughed and joined the festivities, giving Lord Elrond a bow before taking Arwen's hands in her own and greeting her happily. She asked her about her trip and wanted to know how she fared on it when all of a sudden her eyes grew wide as if she just remembered something she had forgotten to do.

"I can't believe it, I forgot to give your mother the bundle you gave me back in the gardens?!" Tracey said quickly and sighed, her expression turned to one of dismay. "I can't believe I forgot! Please forgive me!"

Arwen laughed and hugged her. "If all I have heard is true I am not surprised. Bonding to Legolas, regaining your memories and finding your sister. All of that would drive my bundle from my mind too. Do you still have it?"

"Of course I do." Tracey said with a smile and hugged her back. "It's still in my saddlebags in our room. Shall I get it now or wait till the festivities are concluded for the night?"

She felt like an idiot for forgetting Arwen's request but it really couldn't have been helped.

"Oh it can wait, it's waited this long, a few hours more is trivial." Arwen smiled and looked over Tracey's shoulder. "Is that your sister?"

When Tracey looked over her shoulder she saw Artemis talking to one of Elrond's attendants who seemed to be enamoured of the tall woman with her striking hair and features. "Artemis and I share a very strong bond as if we were sisters." Tracey replied and nodded. "Allow me to introduce you to her, I think you'll like her alot."

Tracey led Arwen away from her father and his company to bring her to Artemis and introductions were exchanged.

"Artemis, this is Lady Arwen, Arwen, Artemis."

Artemis turned and smiled. "Nice to meet you Arwen. Tracey has told me about how close you two got while she was in Rivendell. Thanks for keeping an eye on her while we were separated."

Arwen smiled at Artemis. "It was a pleasure, though I do wonder why you and she were separated in the first place."

Artemis shrugged. "The capriciousness of magic."

"So it is true, you are a Wizard like Mithrandir?" Arwen's voice was pleased and excited.

"What did Gandalf put in that letter?" Artemis asked looking a little surprised.

"Well he rarely keeps things from my father so I do believe he told all." Arwen replied.

Tracey blinked and nodded, figuring that Arwen also knew about the Dwarves, but she wouldn't say anything about them unless Arwen brought it up.

"I've only seen a few minor bits of magic from Artemis, she is quite powerful in her own right. I wouldn't mind learning a few things from her, I've always been open minded in that regard." She said with a smile. "Would you like me to get you something to drink Arwen?"

Before she could answer Elrond walked over and gave them a short bow. "Lady Tracey, I am pleased that you were able to regain your memory."

"My Lord Elrond, it's a pleasure to see you again." Tracey replied, giving him a curtsy in return. "I'm also glad to have my memories back, though I couldn't make up my mind if I really wanted them back or not. Other outside elements became the encouragement I needed to strengthen my resolve to regain my memories. Perhaps now I can be a little bit more of a help to our problem."

She straightened and swept a hand out to her side and redirected his attention to Artemis.

"This is Artemis, she was the one my dreams were showing me about. I had to seek her out and then we ended up meeting again on the road to Lothlorien, Gandalf was with her too."

Elrond gave Artemis a considering look and she returned it calmly her dark eyes meeting his. He held out a hand and she laid her fingers in his as he gave a slight bow over her hand. "I see danger in your eyes and steel in your heart. You walk a dangerous road and I cannot see it's destination."

Artemis gave a slight smile and took her hand back. "Those of us who practice the Art do not even know where our road will take us, to practice the Art is to surrender one's destiny to winds of change and chance."

"Just so. I hope you will be cautious for those you carry alongside you." Elrond mused.

Artemis glanced at Tracey and then back at Elrond. "She knows the dangers and walks beside me of her own will."

Arwen looked a little confused as her father nodded and turned back to Tracey. "Lady Tracey, I was wondering if you would be willing to walk with me for a time?"

"Of course my Lord, it would be my pleasure." Tracey replied, giving Arwen a smile and patting her hand reassuringly. "Set your mind at ease Lady Arwen, please enjoy the festivities and be merry. I will return with the bundle on my person after I talk with your father for a time."

Draping her hand gently over Lord Elrond's as he presented it to her, Tracey let Lord Elrond lead her away from the festival. All the while she had a growing nagging feeling in her stomach that their conversation was going to be a serious one. It reminded her of the same feelings she would get at work too, the one where her boss wanted to see her for some reason, but she couldn't tell if she was in trouble for something or not. There was never a positive way to say 'hey, we need to talk to you' without thinking that one was in trouble for something. So until Lord Elrond reassured her that all was well, Tracey could only assume that he was about to unleash some 'doom and gloom' on her.

"You seem troubled my Lord, is there something I can do to ease your mind?" She asked softly as they walked, her eyes glancing at Lord Elrond from time to time before focusing on the path they were walking.

He walked with his hands clasped behind his back and it reminded her of a general inspecting the troops. When he spoke his voice was quiet and somewhat gentle. "When I received Gandalf's letter I was pleased to hear that you had regained your memory and Bonded with Legolas though I admit to having my suspicions about you and he when you first arrived at Rivendell. When Gandalf made true the theory that you were one of the Faery Race I was even more pleased and a little concerned. The Faery passed from the world long and long ago but now wonder of wonders you stand before us a Faery and Bonded to an Elf."

He smiled gently at her and kept going. "But then Gandalf made it known in his letter that you intend to leave Middle Earth with the first Female Wizard in an Age. You are both women of extreme importance, of extreme value to Middle Earth, with the pair of you Middle Earth could see such wonders again, you might even be able to find Valinor and bring light back to the Trees. Your friend Artemis might be able to rekindle the race of Wizards, you could even rekindle the race of Faery."

He stopped and turned to her his eyes not quite pleading but she could see the longing in them, the longing to prolong the magic of Middle Earth, to save the Age of Elves and halt the coming of the Age of Man. An Age that he knew would mean the end of magic in Middle Earth. He didn't voice his request but she heard it just the same. Tracey halted her movements and looked at Lord Elrond, concern on her facial features. She couldn't help but feel for him and understand what he was trying to do, not just for him but for all those who used magic and depended on it for everything. Letting out a sighed, Tracey's wings stopped fluttering and wilted a little as she crossed her arms under her chest, contemplating how she should answer him.

"I know what you would have me do my Lord Elrond..." She started, searching his eyes. "If it is the reason Artemis and I were sent to Middle Earth than we will find Valinor and perhaps the reason the Dwarves were saved was so they could help us. But Artemis and I can't stay here indefinitely as much as I would like to, this has always been a world that I could see myself living in forever, but I don't think it is possible."

He looked down at the ground then up again at the Wood with its luminous pale trees, he seemed to be on the verge of saying something more but he checked himself and held his arm out. "How are you enjoying your time in Lothlorien?"

Wanting to say more on the subject, Tracey started to speak but then thought better of it. She would keep quiet for now, but figured she'd talk to Artemis about Valinor later that night and see if they might be able to do something to find it.

'Perhaps we were sent here to return magic to Middle Earth.' She thought her herself before answering Lord Elrond. "I have enjoyed every moment here in Lothlorien and like Rivendell, there is so much to see and experience. There would be something to do every day, I could have an adventure whenever I wanted... there's so much to see of Middle Earth."