A/N: I thought I'd switch it up and start with the Middle-earth portion this time around. Credits to for supplying the extended edition script – without it I probably would not have this story as far in as it is. Much easier than pausing my DVDs on a temperamental player.

"Over the bridge! Fly!"

The cries of the wizard for the company to get across the crumbling ruins was nearly drowned by the rapid destruction caused by the monstrous being that was approaching their heels. Gandalf stopped halfway across the Bridge of Khazad-dûm and turned to face the fiery Balrog. The growls of the beast did not deter the wizard, set on drawing his attacks away from the Fellowship. From the other side of the open cavern, the Halfing Frodo yelled to Gandalf to convince him to turn away from the fight, but his cries went unnoticed.

"I am the servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you!" With his staff in hand, he raised it high as a bright white light illuminated the surrounding area. The Balrog swung a flaming sword down, only to have the attack blocked by Gandalf's sword, Glamdring. The sword of fire was shattered, but this did not stop the Balrog, who produced a whip of fire as its next choice of weaponry.

"YOU…SHALL NOT…PASS!" The roar of the wizard was drowned by the clash of his staff and sword upon the bridge. There was a pause in action, as the Balrog made to move forward to attack Gandalf, but the weight of the beast was the breaking point for the stone bridge, causing it to crumble from beneath. The Balrog fell from the bridge into the seemingly never-ending chasm. Gandalf watched the demon fall to its demise as he leaned on his staff for support. Satisfied that his attack was final, he turned to join the rest of the company waiting for him.

To see the fiery whip reach up and grasp Gandalf's ankle came as a surprise. The Balrog was determined to not be the only one to die this day. Grasping onto the edge of the broken bridge, he looks to the terrified members of the group and utters, "Fly, you fools!" before losing his grip and disappearing from view.

Fiona had made some calls and begged favors to find Payne. She knew her friend deserved the best, and while she was not keen on the idea of setting the woman up on a blind date, all of her contacts assured her that the young man was an upstanding individual.

"For your sake, Fiona, this had best be a joke."

They were standing in Ithilwen's bedroom. Ithilwen was standing by the bed with her arms crossed, glaring at the articles of clothing that were flying from her closet to the bed. Fiona came out holding a simple floral dress and some shoes she thought were appropriate.

"Just here me out, Ithilwen," her friend began, holding the dress up under Ithilwen's chin. "I've been told that Payne is a really nice guy-"

"You haven't even met him?! Fiona-"

"-and his friends speak nothing but good things about him. Why don't you give it a chance?"

Ithilwen scoffed. "Because he's a mortal? Isn't that enough of a reason to not do this?"

"Sweetie, the world is full of mortals. One of them is interested in taking you out for lunch. Just one date. Would you do it for me?" At her friend's lack of agreement, she continued. "Look, I know that you aren't always locked away in this house when we're gone, but maybe this will be an opportunity to make a new friend. He is a friend of DarkDragon 23, you know, the Barnabus cosplayer we met back at Comicon last year?"

Sighing, the elleth replied with, "Dammit. Alright, but just one lunch date. If I don't feel comfortable seeing this person again on a date, I don't want to hear it. Understand?"

Fiona nodded enthusiastically and went back to planning her friend's outfit.

"He's here! He's here! He's here!"

Fiona nearly bounced on her toes all the way to the front door when the sound of the doorbell rang through the house. Ithilwen was much calmer coming down the stairs, albeit slowly. She really didn't want to be set up with a mortal; the idea made her feel insulted on one level and disappointed on another. Even if she did hit it off with this Payne, she knew that she would outlive him by lightyears. As she was coming down the steps, her balance shook, and she grabbed with railing with more force to steady herself.

"Ithilwen? You coming?" Fiona asked from the foot of the stairs.

"Yes, I'll be right there." She replied back.

Fiona turned and went back to the living room, and Ithilwen could hear her tell someone that she would be down shortly. Must be that Payne mortal, she thought. As she turned into the doorway, Fiona beckoned her over to the pair. All thoughts of her unstable balance left her when Fiona spoke, breaking her from her reverie.

"It's nice to meet you," she bowed her head to the mortal who sat in the armchair to her left. This man, or rather boy in her eyes, seemed nice enough. He had no outstanding features that she could see – dark hair, dark eyes, slightly tanned skin. Normal.

Payne took Ithilwen to a casual restaurant for lunch. Conversation was weak, in her opinion, because she could not tell him the full truths of her origins. When he asked about her ears, Ithilwen told him that it was a genetic anomaly.

"You never thought about getting them fixed?" Payne asked before eating a mouthful of pasta.

Ithilwen paused in stirring her chicken salad, caught off guard by the question. When Payne noticed her silence, he looked up and caught her expression. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

"No, it's alright…you just surprised me," Ithilwen replied. "The thought never occurred to me, to be honest. When I was in school, none of the other children teased me about them, and I always liked being different."

Payne shrugged with a laugh. "You're a better person than me," he said. "I would have had them rounded off in a heartbeat. I'd be afraid that everyone would think I was a freak!" Ithilwen smiled at his attempt at humor, but she didn't find it amusing in the least. When she turned her attention back to her food, he changed subjects again, this time asking about where she went to school.

Before Ithilwen could answer, she felt a tight pain in her chest. Forgetting that she was in public, and in the company of a stranger, she placed her hand to her chest and gasped in surprise. Payne looked up from his plate and noticed her state. "Are you alright?" he asked casually. "Was it something I said?"

Ithilwen looked up a moment later. "I'm… I'm fine," she said. She diverted his attention back to the conversation, but what transpired would not leave her thoughts alone. First she loses her footing on the steps, and now she has chest pain? This was strange indeed.

"This was fun," Payne said, walking Ithilwen to the front door. "Maybe we could meet up for lunch again sometime, or maybe a movie?"

Ithilwen tensed at his words. Payne was nice to be around throughout lunch. Despite the first-meeting awkwardness that popped up throughout lunch, Ithilwen could not find a reason not to say no to him. That bugged her, as she was adamant about not enjoying this date, when it turned out that she did find his company enjoyable. Payne picked up on her silence. "Is something wrong? Did I step out of bounds?"

The elleth shook her head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just…" she took a breath. "Listen, when I was told that I was being set up on a blind date, I didn't want to go through with it-"

"Hey that's alright!" Payne cut her off. "I wasn't thrilled with my friends for setting this up either. But then when I got here, and I met you, and through lunch I just kept thinking.. wow, I'm glad I said yes."

Ithilwen smiled slightly. "I enjoyed your company as well. I just don't want to raise your hopes for something that I am not ready for."

Payne shrugged. "No worries, Ithilwen. We don't have to do anything that would make you uncomfortable. We can just hand out like a couple of friends and see where things go from there if you want."

"That sounds acceptable," Ithilwen smiled more. Payne told her that he would talk to her later and they parted ways; Ithilwen heading inside, and Payne to his car.

Once inside the house, Ithilwen walked into the den to find Fiona playing a video game. She had a headset on and was talking a teammate through a level when Ithilwen pulled another gaming chair over to her. "So," Fiona started, lowering the microphone of her headset down slightly. "How was lunch?"

"It was…enjoyable."

"See, I told you you'd have fun," Fiona turned back to the television, before her eyes darted to Ithilwen's. "What's wrong?"

"I had a peculiar chest pain during lunch," the elleth muttered.

"Did you eat something greasy?"

"It wasn't like that. It was… sad."

"How so?" Fiona moved her character to a safe zone before telling her team that she would be back in a minute and turned to Ithilwen.

"You know the feeling of grief? It was as if someone was lost. When I was coming downstairs earlier, my footing slipped, and I nearly lost my balance."

Fiona's brow furrowed. "This is strange. You can't get sick, so it isn't that. Empathy?"

"That might be possible, but I do not understand who it is that is feeling sad."

"Could it be Mom? I know she has moments of sadness when she thinks of your dad," Fiona suggested.

Ithilwen shook her head. "No, this level of sadness is stronger. Nana has had time to cope with not being with Ada. This is new, and sudden. As if the rug was pulled from under someone's feet."