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Eruraviel hated traveling in the desert. The hot, dry air made her lungs itch and the loose sand constantly flew in her eyes. Thankfully, she was wearing the wrappings and garb that those in Harad wore regularly which protected her skin from the sand, which stung, as it was whipped around by the wind. She made sure not to travel during the peak hours of heat between just after midday and a few hours before sunset so as to avoid burning through her water too quickly. Thankfully as an elf, she could go several days at a time without rest so she could cover a lot of ground at night when the temperature finally dropped. She was still a few days from Celedir and her unease grew with every step she took. Something was wrong but she didn't know what it was. The feeling came from behind her where she had already traveled and not where she was going.

She would need to be very careful to never remove her altered clothing, for if the men of Harad discovered that not only was she an elf but female, she would face extensive torture before they killed her. She still had a weeks worth of Lambas left that she would save for her trip by ship back to Pelagir at the end of the week. She didn't plan to stay very long, the sooner she was out of Harad the happier she would be. She kicked a scorpion off her boot and inwardly cringed at the reaction Glorfindel was likely to have at her adventure. However, she hoped his protectiveness would be held at bay as long as she returned unharmed. As she crested the next dune she breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the coastal city of Celedir. As she headed down the dune she hummed low in her throat as roughly as she could to disguise her voice, as the lilting voices of the Eldar were quite distinctive.

As she approached the sand wall that acted as the city's gate. The wall stood a towering 30 feet into the air and was at least 12 feet thick.

"Halt, state your name and purpose!" the guard to the left of the gate called. She approached carefully and in as gravelly a voice as she could manage replied.

"The names Corsarcus, and I'm hoping to just restock on supplies before heading out tomorrow morning." She said and the guards traded looks before waving her into the city. Playing the weary traveler looking for supplies she headed for the public market and proceeded to buy more day rations and three new canteens full of fresh water. Working of some advice she went to a very public inn a block away from the shipping yard and just off the main street and payed for a nights room. She stayed downstairs and ate a filling yet light meal that consisted of some sort of roasted lizard and greens, listening to the conversation around her.

"I'm tellin' ya' Jakel this is the best chance we have for some quick gold. The man works for the Litch king and he's asking for some able-bodied humans for some job up north. This is a real chance to play havoc with the forest rats up north. The last group made off with 60 gold a piece for their work." The grubby man said. She very carefully kept herself looking disinterested and unaware as she did not want to alert anyone that she was paying the two men any attention what so ever.

"Sedroil, the Litch has been recruitin' people for months now but not one has returned. He's got recruiters all over the city. Hell he's even gotten the guards to become loyal ta' him. It just seems like a bad idea." The other man said sounding dubious. Eruraviel was pleased to know that at least some of the desert dwellers had sense, since this so-called Litch King had been lying, those men never got their gold. They were dead. She stayed downstairs to take in as much information as possible, then headed to her room just before Ithil reached her highest point. She grabbed her gear and snuck out her window, landing on a ledge below. She stood in the shadow of the inn, as she looked at all the ships across the bay looking for the Calldwella, which was the ship she knew was returning to Pelagir thanks to the shipping manifest she had stolen. Spotting the ship that was in the middle of being loaded she saw that it was in fact the Calldwella. She slid between the shadows as she approached the ship and crawled under the dock, careful not to touch the water and using the handholds that were naturally formed by the planks of wood slowly made her way to the ship.

As she approached hull of the ship she saw that every other porthole was open to aid in airflow due to the live cargo that was being loaded, various desert animals for trading and such. She made her way to the farthest one and when no one was nearby, slid in through the open window. She landed in a room full of desert dogs that were all in their cages. She breathed a sigh of relief, the presence of the desert dogs meant she would be unbothered during the trip as most people in Harad had a large fear of the animals. Still to be safe she made her way to a corner that was out of sight of the door and hidden behind a large metal cage. Between her brown and black garb, the filthiness of the ship and the dogs would make her virtually unnoticeable.

She sat in absolute silence for several hours as the ship was finished being loaded. About ten minutes after the loading noises ceased, she heard two men approaching the door.

"We need ta' close the porthole and yer gonna do it. I hate the damn dog's and I ain't goin' in there." A rough, gravelly voice growled. She took a slow deep breath and laid against the floor not moving at all, even keeping her eyes closed so as to avoid the color giving her away. She heard another higher voice grumbling as the door swung inwards setting off the dogs that until now had been relatively quiet and calm. She heard the same voice cursing as he stormed to the open porthole and slammed it shut locking it. She listened quietly as his steps faded and the door shut and remained still for another ten minutes to insure that they were not going to return. She let out the rush of breath she had been holding for the last three minutes and felt some relief that she was leaving the valar forsaken city.

As she felt the ship get under way she relaxed against the floor and let herself fall into a light reverie. It was a three day trip by ship to Pelagir and she would be in this room for the entire trip.

The journey itself wasn't too terrible. She had wound up sharing her rations with the dogs as it appeared that the crew had no interest in feeding their cargo. As such she shared her food and water as much as she could and let out a breath of relief when she saw Pelagir in the distance. They would be docking within the hour.

As the ship moored itself to the dock and the lines secured, she glanced out the porthole and when the coast was clear opened the window and hanging by her fingers let herself drop into the water. As she sank, she removed the Harad garments and swam under the dock towards the rocks on the east side down the street from the inn. She had to come up several times for air, as she couldn't swim very quickly due to wanting to minimize the noise she was making. It took her half an hour to safely make her way to the rocks and she stayed low in the water hidden in a small eddy until nightfall. The water was frigid and she thanked her lucky stars she was an elf. By the time darkness fell and it was safe to head for the inn her hands where white while her lips held a blue hue due to the coldness of the water. She pulled herself up onto the rocks and darted across the street into a small shadowed alcove. As she prepared to climb to the roofs, she was caught by surprise by a sharp pain against her head before everything went black.

As her senses returned she was aware of a sharp stabbing pain in her head and the feeling of restraints secured around her wrists and a blindfold. Carefully she sat up, listened to see if anyone was nearby, and could hear someone in a room next to her judging from the muted sounds. She could feel that she still had her daggers and that her spike strip was secure and wondered who had taken her. Was she even still in the city? She felt through her Faer that Arvellas was nearby and realized that she was still in Pelagir. From the throbbing and dripping sensation, she was sure that her scalp had split and that she had a concussion. For now she needed to find out who had her and why.

A door flew open, her mind automatically sensed that to door was to her left. As her blindfold was ripped away she grunted at the piercing light as is felt light knives to her sensitive eyes. She gasped as a hard kick was administered to her side and felt the breath leave her lungs at the blow. The kicking continued until she felt two sharp cracks as some of her ribs broke on her right side. Still she refused to cry out. Finally, the kicking ceased and she lay gasping lightly on the floor. She saw a pair of booted feet enter her vision and turning her head saw a man with black hair and eyes staring down at her.

"You have been causing too many problems to his majesty recently. We know it was you that saved that blasted woman and you just couldn't leave it at that could you? Well I have been given the authority to dispose of you before to become a true thorn in his side." The man told her with a sickening grin on his face.

"So you serve some bastard king of the south? Well he can't be all that great if his plans are thwarted by one measly elf." Eruraviel gasped out. Maybe if he got angry enough he would let slip something she could use. The man's face darkened in rage.

"South? No desert rat could guide men so efficiently here in the north! Our King has travelled middle earth for 70 years! He has seen the power of Sauron and knows that there is no resisting him. He will guide and fight with us and in return Sauron will give him back his kingdom to rule!" The man yelled and kicked her hard in the abdomen. Eruraviel grunted and laid on the floor panting as the man left the room and pulling her leg up behind her grabbed one of her daggers and cut her bindings. Standing quickly and cursing herself for doing so as her head spun sickeningly, she stood behind the door waiting for the man to return.

As the man re-entered the room she quickly plunged her dagger into his neck from behind. He fell to the floor with a quiet gurgle and she stood there panting. She needed to leave – now. Turning she limped her way out of the room and realized she was in a back room of the inn. With a sinking feeling she went out into the office and closed her eyes in sadness at the sight of Janelle's body laying on the floor. Shaking her head sadly she went out back and grabbed Arvellas before leading her horse to the tavern to gather her things. She had a hurried conversation with Hellonir about her condition but he let her leave unhappy that she had not let him call the healer. She saddled Arvellas with difficulty due to her dual broken ribs and quickly mounted pulling out her travel pass that had thankfully dried.

As she left the city she continued travelling north for several hours at a gallop wanting to put as much distance between her and Pelagir as possible. It was late in the evening when she pulled Arvellas to a halt next to a cave that held a spring inside. Leading her companion inside she let her horse drink as she pulled out the emergency aid kit Elrond had given her. She bandaged her ribs and head, as well as her wrists where her bindings had rubbed the skin raw. She leaned against the cave wall and realized that she needed to get back to Imladris as quickly as possible. They need to know about this new threat. This Litch King was going to be a major issue, what kingdom did the man want to rule? She knew he was human but with him being over seventy there was no way he was still in the fighting condition that the man had indicated. The only humans who stayed that young were…

Her mind leaped forward with great speed putting together all the little puzzle pieces she had found. This Litch King was someone who knew the North and its allies well, well enough to stage a kidnapping. He had a prolonged lifespan and was from a kingdom that no longer existed. The only race that fit was the Dunédain! Why would a ranger want to side with Sauron he was part of the reason the Valar had sunk Numénor to begin with! This was bad, very bad. The elves could not afford to go around accusing allies of treachery. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself and let herself drift into a light sleep. With luck she could reach Imladris in a little over two weeks if she rushed.

As the leagues passed under Arvellas' swift feet, she felt a larger amount of relief that she would be in Imladris by nightfall. The past two weeks had been horrid as the speed her and Arvellas travelled at aggravated her ribs and sent her head spinning in agony from what she suspected was a fractured skull. She and Arvellas hadn't stopped nearly as much as they should have, both pulling on their hidden well of strength in order to continue. As she passed through the inner border she gasped as she felt Glorfindel's presence surge within her as it settled almost protectively in her head and ribs. As she crested the ridge, she drew Arvellas to a stop both panting harshly and pushed past the point of exhaustion. She could see Two raven haired figures, A gold haired one and a silver haired figure all standing in the main courtyard. It had been a long five months that she had been gone and she let Arvellas led them into the valley both glad to have returned.

As Arvellas entered the courtyard Eruraviel barely had time to blink before Glorfindel was upon her pulling her gently from her four legged companion. She rested bridal style in his arms her mind finally starting to sink under the waves that had been trying to pull her under for days. She relaxed as her eyes started to close and felt a hand rest on her ribs and head and then she knew no more.

Safety was the prevalent sensation that she felt as she slowly woke from unconsciousness. She took a deep breath but not as deep as she wished as her ribs gave a painful stabbing sensation. She opened her eyes, surprised to have closed them to begin with to find herself staring at a cream ceiling with green running along the border. Slowly turning her head, she was surprised to find herself in the healing hall. She had forgotten she had made it back to Imladris. She felt a slight upturn in her faer and realized that something else was anchoring her, and after a moment realized that it was Glorfindel's faer protectively guarding hers. She blinked dazedly as the doors to the healing hall opened and she found herself staring into the faces of Glorfindel, Elrond, Erestor and Celebrían. Upon seeing her aware they quickly approached her bed and Glorfindel sat on the edge gently grabbing her hand.

"Ah Meleth-nin I am so happy to see you awake. What happened to cause you such injury?" He asked her a look of possessive, protective anger on his visage as he gently brushing her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Elrond stepped forward and placed his hand on her forehead and closed his eyes in concentration. She felt a brush of a somewhat foreign faer as it swept through testing the bones of her skull and easing the slight ache before heading south to her ribs. She groaned slightly as she felt heat in the bones as he sped up the healing. As he removed his hand, she found all of them looking at her awaiting her answer.

"Well as you know I went to Pelagir and while I was there one of my allies told me of several humans that had come by ship that were headed north as a favor to someone." She said and could see them nodding.

"That night I snuck into the dock masters office and found the shipping manifest for the craft that brought them to Pelagir and found out that there was another shipment coming in from the same craft three weeks ago. I felt I didn't have much choice but to head to the city the craft sailed from to gather further information." She said hoping she would be able to skip just where she had gone. However, the worried frown on all their faces dashed most of that hope along with Glorfindel's question.

"Just what city did the Ship hail from Meleth-nin?" As he placed his hand behind her neck squeezing lightly in comfort. Sighing she looked at the ceiling and said in a dead voice,

"Celedir." There was silence for a minute before Erestor spoke.

"I don't remember that town where is it?" he asked and she could feel that the others felt the same.

"It's located about 20 leagues west of the City of Corsairs." Was all she said and heard Erestor gasp, the horror clearly heard in the action.

"Are you mad Elleth?! What in Valar's name would make you think that to be a good idea?!" Erestor ranted and she could feel the worry and confusion from the others. Glorfindel had scooted closer and turned her head to face him, worry and burgeoning anger clear in his eyes.

"Where EXACTLY DID YOU GO?" and she felt a part of her soul cringe at the dominant command.

"The City of Celedir is located on the coast of Southern Harad." And saw his eyes fill with terror, anger, worry and most worryingly determination. The cries of horror from the others was worse than she imagined and she felt Glorfindel lift her and pull her into his chest tucking her head under his chin. She could hear his heart racing a felt some regret for the fear and worry they felt. Nevertheless, it was already over and done with why were they so afraid? The next fifteen minutes she was subjected to several lectures and the promise that it would be a long time before they let her leave Imladris again without an escort. Glorfindel merely continued to hold her and after they had finished lecturing her had asked Elrond a somewhat puzzling question.

"Mellon-nin when will she be healed enough to resume every day activities?" she felt confusion which only increased at the look of comprehension and satisfaction in Elrond's gaze.

"Tomorrow afternoon she should be clear to leave." He said and at her confused look elaborated.

"You returned to Imladris a month ago my dear, we have kept you sedated in order to let your ribs and skull heal without complication. Arvellas had recovered and is quite happy in the grazing fields. Now while we are extremely displeased with your actions please continue your tale."

She nodded slowly, slightly irritated that she had been drugged but pushed past that.

"Well when I arrived I found out that there is in fact someone pulling the strings. They refer to him as The Litch King and he is human and he holds many allies in the south. He is the one who sent the humans here and created the plan to take Celebrían and he has no plans to give up any time soon. I would send word out to the other kingdoms that the wives not leave the cities until he is taken care of. Anyway I left by sneaking out on the ship headed to Pelagir and when I returned to the city I swam to shore but was forced to remain in the water until night fall. When I climbed out and headed to the inn I stopped and was struck across the back of the head. When I awoke I was bound at the wrist and blindfolded. A man entered and told me that he was a servant of the Litch King and that I was causing the man too many issues. That when he broke my ribs. I insulted this so-called king and he told me that the man was over seventy, still in fighting condition and had made a deal with Sauron that for his aid Sauron would return the man's kingdom and place himself as its king." As her tale unfolded she could see the worry in their eyes and realization dawning in Elrond and Erestor's eyes. Glorfindel's tightening embrace told her that he had also piece together the clues.

"This will be a large issue…"Elrond said in Celebrían touched his arm.

"What do you mean? What am I missing?" She asked her mate and Elrond turned grabbing her hand and holding it between his own.

"The only race that meets all the qualifying factors for this Litch's identity is a Dunédain." He said to her gasp of horror.

"We will figure what to do about this later, how did you escape?" Elrond asked. Sighing Eruraviel concluded her tale.

"I still had my dagger so once I cut myself free I killed him and left the city, and returned as fast as I could." They nodded and wishing her well left her alone in the healing hall with Glorfindel.

"I love you more than anything Meleth-nin and my soul cries at the thought of you being in such danger without me by your side. You are mine to protect, mine to love and mine to hold. Come your release from the halls, you will become mine in every way." He told her in a rumbling growl filled with dominance, desire and possessiveness. Her eyes widened as she realized he meant to complete the mating bond between them and her very soul cried out in joy at the thought mixed with slight trepidation soothed by the feeling of his faer mixing with hers. Well, this was going to be interesting.

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