This chapter is a little more light-hearted than the previous few. We all need a little break in the action occasionally, do we not? Also, happy early Thanksgiving to my American readers! Enjoy!

Chapter 43

We made our way towards the stairs which would lead down to the main floor, and I became confused as I looked down at the others. "Where is Nona?" I asked quietly, not seeing her with the rest of our companions.

At this, Elrohir looked a little uncomfortable. "She…well, when she saw what happened with you and Frithgeir, she became afraid."

I sighed, "Afraid of me, you mean?"

He nodded and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "The people of Dunland are very superstitious, as you know, and especially of Elves. She felt it was better to return home."

I hesitated; were the others afraid of me too? Before I could lose my nerve, Elrohir answered my unasked question. "They do not fear you, Gwin, I promise. We have all seen dark forces at work in this world which impact even the goodliest person, and they do not judge you because of it." I considered this; Golodir had indeed struggled with such things, nearly killing Corunir and I under the influence of Mordirith's powers. Perhaps he was right.

Squaring my shoulders, I said, "Very well. I can do this." I was unsure if I truly believed my words, but there was no other option but to move forward. I could see Elrohir give me a small, encouraging smile out of the corner of my eye, and we continued on.

Elladan, Corunir, and Calenglad all looked up as Elrohir and I came down the stone steps, and it made my face flush in embarrassment. Frithgeir saw me and blanched, and scurried off somewhere, likely behind some bookshelves. Nar looked my way and smiled, but when I went to smile back, he pointed into the air and said, "Oh look Hervin, a butterfly!" and started chasing it, despite it not actually existing. I did feel sorry for him, and wondered what else was trapped in his brain that could be useful to us.

Elladan waved us over to a table, where my large map of Enedwaith was spread out. "Our next stop should be Candaith's encampment." He pointed to a location at the base of the mountain. "We can update him on what we have discovered." He looked at the rest of us. "It is possible Halbarad will want some of us to return here, but for now, we should make our way down the mountain." I noticed the others did not give me wary glances, nor bring up what happened yesterday. I appreciated it, and was glad to have such friends at my side.

"Should all of us leave at once?" Calenglad asked. "Perhaps it would be best to go down in smaller groups, so as not to draw too much attention to Zudrugund's location."

Elrohir nodded, "I agree." He looked to Elladan and I. "I believe the three of us should go first, and make sure Candaith is still down there, and that the path is secure. I would then return here to let the rest of you know it is safe to descend."

I sat down and considered this. The thought of seeing Candaith so soon made my heart beat a little faster, but I needed to be objective. It was possible the path was no longer safe, or even gone completely after the blizzard a few days before, if an avalanche had occurred. We could scout and find the safest route.

Turning to the group, I said, "This plan makes sense to me. If the path down the mountain is unsafe, we will keep searching for one that is. As Elves, we are less impacted by the cold, so we could search for longer without worrying overmuch about hypothermia."

Elrohir smirked, "We also can walk on top of the snow." Corunir rolled his eyes and muttered, "More like prance." I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"What do the rest of you think?" I asked.

Corunir and Calenglad both shrugged. "It's the best plan we have, so we might as well use it," Calenglad replied. Corunir nodded in agreement.

I stood up and said, "Then it is settled," I turned to the twins. "Let us gather our belongings and get ready to set out." I hesitated. "Would…would the two of you be able to say our farewells? I do not think Frithgeir will want to speak to me, perhaps ever again."

Elladan smiled sadly at me, "I think he will forgive you, eventually."

"Perhaps," I replied, although in reality, I thought it was hopeless.

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My hopes of a smooth descent were dashed when we discovered a huge snow pile, right in the middle of our path. We could walk over it, but it would be difficult for the others to get around it, as it was very high and went from the rock wall to the very edge. "Could we somehow dig a tunnel?"

Elrohir looked unsure, "We could try, but the snow is very heavy, and could fall on us as we dig."

I walked over to it and noted the outside was encased with ice. Knowing it would likely be useless, I lit a fire arrow and shot it at the ice; as expected, it melted slightly, but not enough to make an impact. Elladan, however, had an idea. "If we could light torches, perhaps we could melt the snow." He cast his gaze around, and walked back up the path to an area with a few downed, scraggly trees. "Let us use these, wrap some linen around them, and use your oil Gwin."

"I suppose it is worth a try," I said, feeling a little pessimistic but willing to attempt it. Luck was with us today, as the torches worked surprisingly well. It helped that there were three of us, as we spread out slightly and the ice and snow melted at a steady rate. Slowly but surely, the path became clear.

I smiled broadly at Elladan and gave him a hug, "What a great idea!"

He pulled back a little and looked at me mischievously, and before I could stop him, he took some snow, and rubbed it on the top of my head. I gasped at the unexpected icy sensation and glared at him, "If Elrohir wasn't here, I would push you off this cliff." Before he could stop me, I stuck some snow of my own down the back of his shirt, and ran for it (carefully of course). I was laughing, and felt like a child again.

The twins caught up with me and we made a truce not to do any more snow trickery, although I thought I heard a soft, "At least, for now," from one of the twins. I tried not to go too fast, but I was getting more and more excited to see Candaith. I felt giddy, and perhaps a little nervous. I noticed a hand on my arm and Elrohir said, "Not so fast, muinthel. What is the rush?" I narrowed my eyes at his amused expression. "It isn't like there is anywhere we need to be, is there?"

"Of course not muindor! We have all day," Elladan replied, pretending to stretch his arms in the air. The urge to push him off the cliff was back again, but I refrained.

"You know why I want to reach our destination; we need to report off to Candaith," I replied nonchalantly.

The twins grinned at each other. "Report hmm?" Elrohir asked. "Perhaps we should have a little chat with Candaith before he sees you. As brothers, of course, we must make sure he knows how important you are to us, and if he should hurt you in any way, we will have to respond in kind."

My eyes widened, "You will do no such thing. I am an adult and I assure you I can take care of myself."

"Even so," Elrohir continued, "It really is a required conversation. I am sure you understand." He was smirking at me and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

Before I could reply, Elladan said, "You might as well stop trying to convince us to leave it be; if Candaith is the honorable man we think he is, there will be no problem." I almost stomped my foot like an elfling, but refrained as it would only prove their point.

"Fine," I huffed. "But make it quick."

Once Candaith's camp came into view from the path, although we were still some distance away, I felt the need to make myself look more presentable. "Can we stop for a moment?"

Elrohir looked surprised. "Stop? I thought you wanted to see Candaith as soon as you could."

I blushed, "I, ah, want to freshen up a little." Elladan was trying to hold in his laughter but was not entirely successful.

Elrohir raised an eyebrow, "Freshen up?"

I glared at him, "Yes; I want to look, well, a little less travel-worn." I took a breath and asked timidly, "Would you be able to help me with my braids?" I knew my hair was a tangled mess from the wind.

He raised the other eyebrow. "Do your hair?"

I felt my cheeks redden, "Not in a romantic way you fool. Family can do each other's hair, and you are my family, so please help me."

Elrohir laughed and replied, "I am just teasing mellon nin; of course I will help you."

We had reached an area low enough where the wind had calmed significantly, and I handed Elrohir my comb. He carefully worked through the tangles and I noted he was making some more intricate braids. "Are you trained in hairdressing Elrohir?" I teased. I knew he wasn't, but I was curious how he had learned to make them.

He laughed softly and smiled, "Arwen was always asking us to do her hair when she was a child, insisting it needed to look perfect in case her one true love came calling. We asked our naneth to teach us so Arwen would stop complaining that the braids we made were too boring, and we learned some more intricate styles." He laughed, "I had no idea I would be using my talents on my other sister thousands of years later." My heart warmed at his words; I was always happy to feel a part of their family.

Once he was finished, he tied them off with some silver ribbon he found in my pack, and we set off again. I was surprisingly nervous; excited as I was, I still wanted him to think I looked nice. Had he thought about our relationship while we were parted? Did he realize he loved me too?

I was able to see him now, but his back was turned to us; we were still out of his hearing range and likely he did not know we were approaching. Elladan turned to me and whispered, "Let us go first, and pretend you are not with us. Then you can surprise him!"

"After our conversation, of course," Elrohir added. "I will return here, saying I accidentally left something on the path."

I rolled my eyes but agreed, "Do not take too long though."

Both of them grinned at me and continued on, while I hid myself behind part of the rock wall that was sticking out into the path. I could hear them speaking but not the exact words; I felt a shiver of anticipation as I heard Candaith's deep tones. When would Elrohir return?

It seemed like an Age before I heard Elrohir's light footsteps coming my direction. He ducked behind the rock and whispered, "Follow behind me in ten seconds." I nodded, wondering what he was up to.

Once the ten seconds had passed, I nervously brushed myself off and continued down the path. I heard Elrohir say, "I found something on the path that I did not expect."

"What was it?" Elladan asked, pretending not to know.

I figured that was my cue, so I stepped forward so Candaith could see me. He was so handsome in what I would call his 'ranger gear', and he lowered the hood of his cloak slowly as he looked at me. "Hello, Candaith," I said, cursing at how nervous I sounded.

"Hey Gwin," he replied, also sounding a little nervous. I could see Elrohir rolling his eyes, and Elladan mouthing 'get on with it'.

A took a deep breath and moved closer, and my heart fluttered as Candaith slowly smiled at me. I found myself walking a little faster, and then before I knew it, Candaith had swept me into his arms and was twirling me around. I laughed joyfully, and when he set me down gently on my feet, I smiled back. His blue eyes were twinkling, and I noted he had taken both of my hands in his. They were warm, and he was rubbing his thumbs over my knuckles, which he knew always brought me comfort.

I could see the twins moving away from us, giving us some privacy. "I missed you," I whispered.

He looked down at our joined hands, "I missed you too Gwin," he replied, and the emotion in his voice surprised me. There was a shift in his tone, and it was puzzling. I tipped his chin up, and noted how serious he suddenly looked.

"Candaith? What is it?" I asked, concerned I had done something wrong.

"I…we need to talk," he murmured, and my heart dropped. Those were rarely good words to hear.

Uh oh, I wonder what that was all about? What does he want to discuss with Gwin? At least they are finally reunited! I enjoyed writing about the antics of the twins; they like to be silly, but really do care about Gwin and her happiness. Thanks for reading, and review/follow/favorite!