Disclaimer: Must we keep doing this? You should know by now that we don’t own anything. The only things in here we own are Kate and Kira.

*****

Suedom

by Andy and Saphie

Chapter 11 : Kira Blows Her Chance

He means to use YOU to get it.

Kira's body gave one great shudder; then she sat completely frozen with fear.

He has seen you, the Lady continued. His spies run unchecked throughout Middle-Earth. If you succumb to your desire and take the Ring, you will lose yourself, and he will call you to Him. You will not be able to resist. Then Middle-Earth will suffer at His hands, and you will know the slow torment of years, as slow and painful as the Dark Tower can contrive.

Kira shuddered again. Sauron had set Gollum loose from Mordor with the hopes that he would find the Ring, like a little hunting dog after a rabbit. Now He intended the same thing for her. He intended to let her run around loose until she took it for herself; then hunt her down. It would probably work, too. She was just like Gollum—in a way, she was Gollum.

Or at least she was starting to become him, a sniveling, withered, disgusting, bipolar little creature hell-bent on only one thing. She felt it. She felt the gangrel, little thing in the back of her mind, waiting for the first chance to get out, to take over her. That first time it had broken out wasn't entirely from being weakened from her wound. It was strong to start out with…and it was getting stronger.

She hadn't told Kate. It would scare her. She didn't want to scare Kate. She didn't want Kate to worry about her…

Of course, she wasn't averse to worrying about herself, so all of this horrified her, of course. She would have been shaking uncontrollably, but her fear had gone beyond that. She sat completely rigid, dark thoughts passing through her mind; thoughts of what would happen to Middle-Earth if Sauron got the Ring—thoughts of what would happen to her if Sauron got the ring.

She tore her mind away from those thoughts, quickly deciding that she wasn't creative enough to predict what tortures the Dark Lord would administer.

Beware the Ring, for, as you well know, it is treacherous. It may seem beautiful to you, but it will bring you to no better end than it did Gollum if you seek it.

If—if…He got—He got the Ring…wouldn't the world end before—before He could do anything?

She was so tense with fear that she couldn't even move her jaw to voice the thought out loud.

That may be… the Lady answered. And it may not. It is possible that He knows the location of the Bridge, and is leaving it open for his own selfish purposes. He sees this time of peril as his second chance to win the war. If He does know where this Bridge is, it is likely that He will leave it open until He gets the Ring, then destroy it when He needs it no longer. Then His darkness will reign over Middle-Earth unto the end of time.

Why—why doesn't He just hunt down Frodo?' Kira asked. He knows what really happens now…doesn't He?

The Lady smiled.

*****

Gimli and Éowyn looked on the Lady and Kira in bewilderment. It seemed to them that they were seeing two statues. One was bright and tall; as beautiful as pearl, yet as hard as steel. Opposite it was the statue of a small, rigid, sort of sniveling little creature, a scared, pathetic-looking, pitiable little thing. They had never seen the half-gollum look like this before. She looked…well…almost Gollum-ish.

What passed between the minds of the two statues, they couldn't tell, for the two, being statues, made not a single sound or movement.

Kate had no thoughts on the matter, however. She sat on the ground shivering, her eyes still wide with terror. The last image she had seen in the mirror was still fresh in her mind, and she could think of nothing else. Gimli and Éowyn still both knelt beside her, trying to comfort her, though their eyes were fixed on the still forms of Kira and Galadriel.

Then one of them finally moved.

The Lady…smirked?

*****

Two things stop him. The first is the true history of this world—the Canon, as you call it. The Enemy is not supposed to know of the Ringbearer's quest until it is too late. No matter how many times Frodo carries the Ring to Mount Doom, the Enemy's knowledge of the true purpose of the Quest will be forgotten.

The other?

The Lady smirked even more. These Mary Sues, as you call them, are more than capable of dealing the Dark Lord. In fact, they seem to be capable of just about anything.

If Kira hadn't been so horrified, she might have snickered at that. The Dark Lord of Mordor kept getting his ass kicked by a bunch of prepubescent girls!

A sudden thought came to Kira. It had ridden in her mind for awhile, but she had never voiced it, and had forgotten about it recently.

What about—what about—

Gollum?

Yeah. Is he still after the Ring, too?

Nay.

No? Kira's stomach started twisting, slowly rising into her throat. She tasted bile.

Nay…he is after YOU.

Kira screamed, though it was more a terrified squeak than anything.

He seeks you instead of the Ring.

WHY?! Kira asked, and though it was only a thought, it seemed to her that it was high-pitched and squeaky.

His reason is unclear to me. She sighed. Much is hidden from my view. It may be that all of my advice will lead you down the wrong path, though I dare not withhold it from you, lest it is true. However, I must warn you; the four of you must trust to your own wisdom on this journey.

So…you have no idea why Gollum's after me? Kira asked, still holding a horrified fixation on the thought.

Nay. Though I can tell you this: your fate is bound to his. He has some part to play in your quest before the end, though what part that is remains unknown…

The Lady paused for a moment, lost in thought. Her eyes had the misty look of the past, and she seemed to be reflecting on something important that had happened long, long ago.

It seems to be that way with Sméagol, she finally said. He is always in the thick of things, and yet his role is never known until the end. He is always a "wild card," as your people would put it.

Kira realized that Galadriel had probably gotten the term from her head and immediately shuddered. The idea of someone delving into her mind was creepy, even if it was an elf…

Wait! She probably just heard that! Kira thought, to what she hoped was herself. Crap! She probably heard that too! Stop thinking! Stop thinking!

The Lady gave no sign that she had heard anything, though Kira got the feeling that she did…

I did. The Lady smiled.

Oh…well, um, what should we do now?

You are welcome to stay here in the Golden Wood and rest. In the morning, you must leave, for I cannot guarantee your safety after that, and I sense something prowling around the borders of this land. I think…that it may one of the assassins that are after you.

Oh no! Kira panicked. We have to leave now!

No, leave tomorrow at first light. You need rest. You will be safe until then.

She beckoned towards Kate, and Kira's eyes followed. Kate was still sitting on the leaf-strewn ground, shaking furiously, as Gimli and Éowyn futilely tried to comfort her. Her eyes seemed to stare out at something only she could see, and it was obvious by the look on her face that it horrified her.

As she looked at Kate, Kira realized that she was shaking herself. She felt very faint.

Yes, the Lady was right. They needed to sleep this off. They needed rest…

No.

They needed more than rest…

They needed to go home.

Why? Kira thought miserably. Why us? We're just kids! What can we do? Why did it have to be us?

The Lady though about this for a long time before giving an answer.

Because you are here, she finally said. Because there is no one else. Because you care…

Kira only answered by closing her eyes.

She really needed ice cream. That's what she needed at a time like this. Fudge ripple ice cream, with chocolate syrup and maraschino cherries…and a warm blanket in front of the t.v., with a good comedy on. Then her mom and dad would come over and give her a hug, and sit down on the couch behind her. Chris would sit next to her, eating her own ice cream, and as they watched the movie they'd crack jokes together, and mom and dad would laugh behind them, and they would all laugh and laugh…

That simple vision in her mind gave her some comfort.

But it mostly just made it feel like a cold, metal spike was being driven into her heart over and over.

She opened her eyes again, and the scene had not changed. She wasn't home.

There the Lady stood, gazing at her with an immeasurable sadness in her eyes, the trees of her beloved home in a state of constant transformation around her. The image was…wrong. It was all wrong. Everything was wrong.

A sudden sad understanding came to Kira.

"You'd like to go home, too, wouldn't you?" Kira slowly said out loud.

"Yes, " was the Lady's sad reply. "I would."

"We'll get you home," Kira said, still slowly. "We'll get you home…or we'll die trying."

"You realize that it will most likely be the latter…"

Kira nodded, a grim look on her face.

"Both of you have seen visions of a future that is to be or only may be," the Lady said. "They may be of help to you, or they may be useless. Only by continuing your quest will you find out. I wish that I could help you more, but I have done all that is within my power."

"My Lady, would it not be wise for Éowyn and I to look into the mirror?" Gimli asked.

"You are right that you should look. If you don't, it could lead to our undoing…" the Lady said. "But the power of my mirror fades…and I fade, as well."

"My Lady?" Gimli asked worriedly.

"Though the girls'…song—"

"If you could call it that," Éowyn mumbled under her breath.

"—freed our minds, they will not stay free. It was only the shock that brought us back to ourselves, and now that shock is fading."

"They can sing another song and—" Gimli started eagerly.

"Nay, Gimli. It will not work again."

The dwarf's head drooped in misery.

The Lady stooped down to his level and looked him in the eye. Her smile was sad, yet within it was a trace of hope, and to Kira it seemed like a beam of light through a blanket of dark and dreary clouds.

Funny. Everything about the Lady, everything she said, everything she did, somehow reminded Kira of light, of light and quiet strength.

‘You could dash yourself to pieces on her, like a ship on a rock, or drown yourself, like a hobbit in a river. But neither rock nor river would be to blame’…

"We will meet again, my dear dwarf. Then we will once again journey across the sea to the golden shores of the Undying Lands…In the meantime, I trust that you and Lady Éowyn will look after these two?"

Gimli looked at her in the eye for a moment, then grimly nodded. Galadriel stood up straight and turned to face all of them.

"You will be outfitted with proper travelling clothes, weapons, and supplies. Then you must leave by dawn, no matter what anyone says or does to try to stop you. I cannot tell you where next to go, or what to do. That, you must decide for yourselves."

*****

The four wanderers sat silently in a grassy clearing under a small, open patch of sky. They watched as the sun started to sink and fade on the outside world, and the shadows under the ever-changing trees lengthened and made patterns on the leaf-strewn ground.

Soon, the golden sky grew paler and paler, and stars flickered into being, one by one, clearer than crystal, piercing the swiftly darkening sky like bullets through tissue paper.

Stars had always seemed so cold back home, Kate thought. They were beautiful, like some sort of cloud of distant, glimmering diamonds, but it seemed that they were made of frost, so cold, so far away…

The stars were different here. They were still far away…but they were warmer.

She understood why the Elves loved the stars so much. There weren't enough words to describe how beautiful they were. She just hoped that they would never changed. She didn't want that vision to come true. She didn't want the stars to fade, the sky to burn…the world to end.

Her thoughts strayed from the stars back to what she had seen.

What had she seen?

The end of Middle-Earth? Was that what it really was? Or was it something else? And why had Sam been sitting alone in that glade? Where had Frodo been? Was it a vision of Sam before he left the Shire, before the Quest began? Where was that dark, shadowy place? It had seemed so familiar…yet she knew she had never actually seen it, but in a way she was sure she had.

Most importantly of all, how would all this help them find the Bridge?

So many questions. So many pictures in her mind.

And every question, every image led back to the same thing…

Those hands…

Those horrible, withered, burning hands…

She shuddered.

Kira had been sitting against a large tree root across from her, her head tilted back against the ancient wood. She was tired. Besides supplies, and several small gifts from Galadriel, the girls had received their first weapons, and of course, Éowyn had wanted to give them their first lessons in swordsmanship while they were still somewhere safe. It had been …educational.

And rigorous. And exhausting. And really rather painful.

Her archery had been up to snuff though, despite a lack of recent practice. She was thankful for that, at least. Her arm was getting weaker though, so she doubted she'd be as sharp a shot for long.

And she was getting so tired. She was pretty sure it wasn't just the sword lesson, either…

She limply sat against the tree and saw Kate shudder out of the corner of her eye.

"You okay?" she said, without moving.

Kate shut her eyes and tried to still her body, tried to will it to stop shaking. She wished she had a distraction, like the swordsmanship lesson Éowyn had given them earlier. While the lesson had been rather painful, she found it was easier to avoid thinking about these horrible things when she was dodging a sword blow to the head.

"Yeah," she said, her lip trembling. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. But you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Kira got up, crossed over the little clearing, sat next to Kate, and pulled a blanket over her.

"Really, I'm fine," Kate chattered.

"Mmm hmm. Riiight."

Kira patted Kate on the shoulder and they both sat in silence for awhile.

Gimli was pacing back and forth across the clearing, mumbling to himself, sometimes angrily, sometimes sadly, perhaps still mourning over the current state of Lórien. Occasionally, he would look up at the changing trees and mutter furiously, his hand straying towards his ax hilt. Then he would shake his head and his hand would quickly draw back.

Éowyn sat serenely across from them, leaning back against a tree, her eyes closed. She was either lost in thought or asleep.

Kira started watching the trees for a while. Every so often, silver bark and golden leaves peeked through—always just for a moment—and made her breath catch in her throat. It was a brief flash of reality in place that was completely unreal.

"I—I never thought I'd ssee thiss placce," she finally said.

"Well, that's understandable," Kate said. "It's Middle-Earth. I mean, it's logical to think that you're never going to get here."

"No, it'ss not-sssee…" She sighed. "Ssee, I never believed thiss place wass real. You know how practical and logical I alwayss am. I didn't think it wasss real."

"I did."

"I know. That'ss the thing. Many fanss think it'sss real, sssomehow, sssomewhere…but I never did."

They sat in silence for a while longer.

"Do you believe it's real now?"

Kira snickered and picked up a stiff, golden leaf off of the ground and thoughtfully spun it between her thumb and forefinger. "I'd be pretty daft if I didn't."

From somewhere far off, they could hear the Elves singing with voices that that were impossibly beautiful. They sang of things little known in Middle-Earth, things that were far beyond the understanding of the girls:

Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen!
Yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron,
yéni ve lintë yuldar vánier
mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva
Andúnë pella Vardo tellumar
nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni
ómaryo airetári-lírinen.

Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?

An sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo
ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë,
ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë;
ar sindanóriello caita mornië
i falmalinnar imbe met, ar hísië
untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë.
Sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar!

Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar.
Nai elyë hiruva. Namárië!

Kira looked off into the distance, listening. "It'sss sstill…ssurreal. Beautiful and horrifying and completely ssurreal, but I know it'ss real now. Well, ssometimess I think I do, at leassst." She paused. "Hmm, I think I remember that sssong. Chapter eight of the Fellowsship of the Ring. 'Farewell to Lórien.' It's in Quenya right?"

Kate nodded. Kira glanced at her, and was surprised to see that there were tears in her eyes.

"It's beautiful…" Kate whispered. "I never thought I'd hear elves, real elves, sing…" She opened her eyes, and her eyelashes were wet with tears. She sighed, but whether it was a sigh of joy or sorrow or possibly both, Kira did not know. "It makes me want everything I can't have…" she continued.

"What'sssss that?" Kira asked quietly. Kate gestured to the flickering trees and the clear night sky with her hand.

"This…" she said. "All of it. Middle-earth, but as Tolkien intended it. Beautiful and unspoiled…with elves, singing to the stars."

And she fell silent, closing her eyes and listening to the song.

Kira kept looking thoughtfully at the leaf in her hand. "Ssomething about Elbereth…er, it's Varda in Quenya, ain't it. Galadriel originally ssang it…to ssay goodbye. You ssupposse—you ssupposse they're saying goodbye to uss?"

"They might. I don't think…well, we'll probably never see this place again. Even if we do get out of all this alive."

"I guesss you're right…"

They both were silent again for a few minutes.

"I feel a little better now," said Kate finally. The Elves' song had helped relax her, as did Kira's talking.

Kira patted her on the shoulder again and stood up.

Then she paused, and briefly looked down at herself. The soft tunics they'd both been provided with were far more comfortable than those horrible dresses had been, and the finely woven Elven cloaks were warm. They had a sort of shimmery quality to them, and Kira guessed that they had the same ability to camouflage them that the cloaks of the Fellowship had.

That would be useful. It might help hide them from the assassins, and, Kira reminded herself, other things.

And she had pants now. Blessed pants! Well, leggings really, but it didn't really make any difference. Anything was better than what they had been wearing before.

However, she wasn't just admiring her clothes. She was looking at her left shoulder, and she was being uncharacteristically quiet…

"Aren't pants great?" Kate joked, thinking that was what Kira was thinking about.

Kira laughed, but it sounded somewhat strained. There was some apprehension in her voice, but Kate had so much on her own mind that she didn't really notice it. Besides, she was exhausted. All she really wanted to think about was sleep.

"Yeah, pantsss. That'ss exactly what I wasss thinking." She tucked the golden leaf into a small pouch in her belt and looked up. "I, uh, wanna go asssk Galadriel ssomething. I'll be right back."

"Mmm hmm." Kate yawned, turned over, gathered the blanket around herself, and started dozing—er, Elvish-trancing almost immediately.

Gimli and Éowyn looked up briefly as Kira walked away, but Kira didn't look them in the eyes.

Something was wrong. There was badly disguised look of anguish on her face, and fear was in her eyes.

"She's up to something," Éowyn said quietly, after Kira was out of hearing range.

"I know," Gimli said. He looked over at Kate, whose chest was already gently rising and falling methodically in slumber. "You stay here with Kate. The lass'll be frightened if she wakes up alone. I'll go see what Kira's up to."

Gimli bounded off noisily in the direction that Kira had gone, and Éowyn wondered if perhaps it was the greatest of ideas to have a dwarf do a task that required stealth…

She settled back down, her chain-mail clinking slightly as she sat. The Elves had provided her with chain-mail, light armor, and a helm, almost as good as, and perhaps even better, than her own.

When Kate and Kira had seen her wearing it the first time, they had been extremely impressed. They had said she had looked like someone named "Joan" who apparently came from some sort of large boat.

How odd, she thought, that these children would be impressed with a woman who fought on the battlefield. It was true that she was honored and renowned for her deeds, but that sort of behavior was typically frowned upon in Middle-Earth. While women were respected, girls were taught to stay in their proper place in the home from an early age. Had she done any lesser deed than defeating the Witch-King, then perhaps the men would not have been so impressed.

What a truly different world they must be from, if women there were encouraged to fight and to be strong…where a women's valor would praised by children…

Of course, valor might be praised in their world, but it was doubtful that many were taught to wield weapons. Kira was as good with the bow as she had said, but with swords, the girls were rather dangerous…to their allies rather than their enemies. After the girls had first gotten their swords, she had tried giving them their first lesson in swordsmanship, and the results had been…interesting. And rather humorous.

Although, she was sure Gimli's beard would fill in again eventually…

Éowyn crept over to Kate's side, instinctually bringing her sword with her. She sat against the tree-trunk and looked at her. Awake, she had looked like a grown woman. Her mannerisms, behavior, and way of speech had shown that she was merely a child, but still the adult exterior remained.

She had a child's face now. Éowyn saw the child within.

She thought back to when she had been alive. She tried to remember her own children. She tried to picture their faces, tried to remember their names.

She couldn't. Most of the girls writing stories about her didn't know that she had married Faramir, that she'd had children. Therefore, they didn't exist. Only in her deepest memories did she hear their laughter in her ears, did she remember the light in their faces, but the actual faces and voices and names themselves were lost to her.

Not only had she lost them; she had lost most of her memory of them.

She felt so alone…

In death, she hadn't felt this alone. She didn't remember death, of course, but having experienced it, she knew it wasn't something to fear. She knew that it had been a gift.

But now she felt lost. She longed for either the peace of death, or life as it had been those many ages ago.

She looked at the child-like face and remembered the fear that had marked it earlier. She remembered the doubt she had seen in it. She remembered the horrible story that the two girls had told of their journey thus far.

And yet, despite all the fear, and doubt, and the longing for home, the two girls had bravely continued on.

They were not fearless, she knew…but neither was she. When she had faced the Witch-King long ago, she had been almost out of her mind with fear, though she had never admitted it to anyone, save Faramir. Yet, despite that fear, she had fought.

And now this girl and her friend were doing the same.

That was the mark of true courage, Éowyn thought. It was easy to face your enemies, and the unknown, when you had no fear. It was quite different to do the same when you were afraid. Bravery was not fearlessness. It was a mastery over fear…

She would defend these brave children until the end, whatever end that might be.

Far off in the woods the Elves started singing again. Their voices were mournful. There were less of them now. The Galadhrim were falling asleep again…

I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew,
of wind I sang, a wind there came, and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the moon, the foam was on the Sea,
and by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden tree.
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,
in Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,
while here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.
Oh Lórien! The winter comes, the bare and leafless day;
the leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away.
Oh Lórien! Too long have I dwelt upon this Hither Shore,
and in the fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
what ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?

The voices died out one by one throughout the song, until only one sad, fair voice was left. After the song ended, it faded into silence.

"You are not the only one who is homeless, child," she said quietly to the girl, tears in her eyes. She looked at the sleeping girl's face, remembering the look of shock and fear that had been on it after it had looked into the Mirror of Galadriel, and her heart brimmed with pity. "You are not the only one who is lost. We are all lost…" She smiled slightly. "But at least we are not all alone. The four of us will find our way."

*****

Gimli carefully picked his way between the starlit trees, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Perhaps Éowyn should have been the one to follow the girl. Dwarves weren't exactly renowned for their stealth…

However, all that time spent with Legolas and the Elves in Valinor had not gone without affecting him somewhat. He wasn't as quiet as an Elf, or a hobbit, or even a man, but he was currently the stealthiest dwarf in Middle-Earth, and that was something at least.

He saw the girl moving ahead, just a shadow under the trees. Occasionally she would pass under a gap in the forest roof, and for a brief flash she would be bathed in moonlight, before passing back into shadow again. It was hard to keep track of her. Her Elven cloak blended in with the dappled shadows on the forest floor.

Far off, he heard the Elves singing again. The song was familiar and it saddened him that the Elves could no longer sing new songs. It seemed that now they could only sing songs that they had sung during the Fellowship's stay in Lórien.

It was still beautiful, though. He stopped and listened for a moment. It was one of the songs he had heard the Lady Galadriel sing so long ago…

With a wistful sigh, he tore his attention away from the song and back onto the task at hand—tracking his quarry.

What in Middle-Earth was she up to? They had spoken long with Lady Galadriel after they had been outfitted with clothes, supplies, various gifts, and in the girls' case, weapons. Everything that needed to be said, had been. So, what did she need to ask the Lady?

Gimli considered that it perhaps may have been a little sneaky and over-cautious to follow her, but it wasn't exactly safe for her to wander about alone. Despite the Lady's assurances that the Golden Wood would be guarded from the assassins until the morning, he didn't exactly trust in Lórien's current defenses.

And they didn't want to force her to take one of them along with her. If she wanted to ask the Lady a question in private she had a right to, and he and Éowyn wanted her to trust them.

But still, Kira's behavior was rather suspicious. He and Éowyn trusted the girls for the most part, but they were from another world, after all. He wanted to trust them entirely, and trust their intentions, but he didn't put it above the Dark Lord to plan such a scheme. It made too much sense; sending out attractive spies that played on their emotions. All of this could be some sort of trick to get Éowyn and himself to lead them to the Ringbearer. Or perhaps to get to the Lady and the other bearers of the Elven Rings…

One never knew…

He hoped that it was something else. Maybe it was. Maybe it was something simpler than that.

Kira had been acting rather odd throughout the evening; she was always squirming, as if she was constantly in a state of discomfort. And several times that evening, she seemed to drift into a stupor of some sort, where she was slightly groggy and incoherent. He remembered the look of hidden anguish on her face before she had left the clearing. That expression of apprehension and worry…

Was she perhaps ill?

Gimli thought back to he and Éowyn's long conversations with the girls. Kira had been injured when she had first gotten to Middle-Earth, hadn't she? Was the wound perhaps worse than she had admitted? Perhaps she was now seeing if the Lady could tend it.

Up ahead, Kira stopped. Whoever had written the description of Lórien that was currently in effect had apparently forgotten that Galadriel and Celeborn's hall had been up on a large flet, accessible by many winding stairs.

The Lord and Lady now had thrones on the ground, with an odd, half-finished pavilion around them, and those same doors they had seen when they first arrived.

The doors had been left open and light from Elven lanterns poured out. Two guards stood there, but by the vacant expressions on their faces, it was obvious that their brief burst of free-will had worn off. He saw Kira timidly peek in and walk through the open doors.

Gimli circled around to the right of the pavilion until he was far off to the side. It was a good place to watch. There he was hidden by the unfinished structure and by the trees, but he had a clear view of Kira, as she stood nervously in front of the Lord and Lady. She was picking at her nails.

Galadriel and Celeborn were slumping in their thrones. They looked absolutely exhausted. Their strength must have been dwindling. They were falling asleep again…falling into that horrible mind-numbing sleep…

Squatting among the bushes and trees, he wrapped his cloak around him, hoping to camouflage himself further. He placed his hand on the handle of his ax. Just in case.

He listened. Many of the words were lost over the night breeze.

"My Lady…my sshoulder…wounded when we…"

So, he was right. It was about her shoulder. He listened even more intently.

"The wound…worssse…infected…don't know how much longer…without medical attention…need…tended…need help…can you…heal…help me?"

He saw the Lady slowly shake her head. Her voice was mournful as she answered. "I have no strength left…after my Mirror…do not have the power to…my mind has weakened…cannot remember how…I am sorry…if you see Lord Elrond, perhaps…"

Galadriel’s voice then changed, and Gimli heard the strangeness in it even over the wind.

"Perhaps my daughter…Fishywishylishiel…heal you…"

Kira slowly closed her eyes and hung her head. "No, I think…thank you anyway…"

Slowly, the girl stumbled out of the pavilion, and Gimli crept behind once again.

She was sick, most likely suffering from a festering wound, and Galadriel couldn't help her. This was ill news indeed. If the Lady couldn't heal her, it was doubtful any of the other Elves could. And who else in Middle-Earth had the knowledge and skill to heal such a wound? Gimli knew that Aragorn was not his proper self, and even if they could get to Lord Elrond in time, there was no guarantee that he would be himself either. There might not be any way to save her…

On the upside, it seemed that there was now enough proof to show that the girls were truly trustworthy. The Lord and Lady were weak. Now would have been a good time to strike if Kira had indeed been a servant of the Enemy.

Of course, he would still keep an eye out.

The girl staggered on into the woods, in no particular direction.

For a moment, Gimli hesitated. The Lady was weak. She was vulnerable.

He doubted those assassins would attack her. A long while ago, he had seen them assassinate one of the "Mary Sues." Afterwards, they had pulled out some sort of device that looked like a short metal stick, but he happened to blink at the moment they held it up. There was a bright flash of red light that was so strong he saw it through his eyelids. His companions had completely forgotten the encounter, causing Gimli to deduce that the purpose of the device was to erase their memories somehow. From then on, he shut his eyes whenever the assassins flashed the device, allowing him to remember most of the times they had appeared. From their talk and how they treated himself and the other people of Middle-Earth, he could tell they had no ill will towards them. So, the assassins weren't a threat to the Lady. They were indeed deadly, but they were just trying to help.

Still, he was ill at ease. He didn't want to leave her and Lord Celeborn alone and vulnerable…

He shrugged off the feeling, and slunk through the woods after the girl. The child needed more watching than the Lady did. Who knew what foolish things she might do if she was upset? And, of course, there was always the threat of her falling into character…and if her character was anything like Gollum, it could cause quite a bit of mischief indeed.

Ahead of him, Kira staggered through the shadows like a drunkard. She was shaking…sobbing.

"Blew it! Blew it, blew it, blew it!" she sobbed to herself. "Sshould've asked her sssooner, preciousss. Sshould've—sshould've told sssomeone how bad it wasss. Sshould've lisstened to Kate."

She staggered into a small area in the forest that was under an open patch of the moonlit sky.

She leaned against a tree and slid down it to a sit, still sobbing uncontrollably.

"If Galadriel can't heal it…oh, you've jussst ssscrewed yoursself over, my preciousss. Waited too long. You can't go Rivendell. Too dangerousss, preciousss, too dangerousss. And Elrond will probably be out of it anyway. Aragorn will probably be out of it, too. And all the elfses-all the elfses iss brainlesss. They'ss all messsed up. Can't heal you, can't heal you; we isss losst, preciousss. We sshould've sspoken up sssooner! You hassss killed usss, preciousss! You hasss killed usss with your stubbornesss!"

"Shut up!" she told herself, her voice suddenly clear. "I'm not gonna die! We'll—we'll find the Bridge soon. Me and Kate and Gimli and Éowyn. You'll see. And then we'll all go home and I'll go to a hospital and get all fixed up."

"Liesss! Liesss! You isss fooling yourselfs, preciousss. You isss fooling yourselfs. You isss going to die. You hass killed usss!"

"I'm going to be fine," she whimpered. "I'm going to be fine! Do you hear me?! I'm not gonna die!! Now, shut up!"

"No, preciousss. You isss going to die…" Suddenly her voice paused and took on a sneaky tone. "Unlessss…"

"Unless what?"

"Unlessss…you'sss getsss it, preciousss."

"Nuh, uh! You're not fooling me! I know what you're trying to do, and I'm not listening!"

"Getsss it preciousss. Getsss it from the nassty little hobbitses! When we hass the Preciousss, we can do whatever we wantss! When we getss the Preciousss, no little woundses from an arrow will stopss uss!"

"No! I won't! And you're not going to trick me into it!" Her voice fell into a whisper. "Just go away…"

The other voice got angry.

"You needss me, preciousss! You'd be dead without me!" The voice stopped, and dropped to a sinister whisper. "I'll betss you haven't told your little friendses about me, yet, have you preciousss? Haven't told them how you letsss me take over for little whilesss, when you'ss in pain, when your ssshoulder hurtsss you, preciousss…maybe one of thessse timeses I ssshould hurtsss them, preciousss…"

"NO! Don't you dare!"

"Maybe I ssshould hurtses the little elf one, yess? Maybe I should ssstrangle her, wring her little neck!"

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU!"

"You won't be able to helpss ssoon, preciousss. You won't be able to sstopss me. I'm getting ssstronger…But…if you agree to helpss me, I'll agree to leavess your little friend alone…"

"I'm not agreeing to anything! I'll never let you win!"

"I will win, preciousss," the voice hissed. "I will. And when I doesss, whether or not I kills your three little friendses dependsss on what you decide. Think on it, preciousss. Thinkss carefully…"

Kira started sobbing again.

Gimli had watched the whole thing with sick fascination. Perhaps the girl wasn't as trustworthy as he had thought. I wasn't of her own doing, of course, but still…

He saw the girl raise her eyes up to the sky. Tears rolled down her cheeks, reflecting dim light of the moon and stars.

For a long while, the tears just kept trickling down, but eventually they slowed and stopped. She kept looking up sky, taking it all in with her eyes.

She smiled slightly.

"It'sss a gift," he heard her whisper to herself. "It'sss a gift. Don't fear it…Éowyn doessn't and she'ss experienced it. Don't be afraid…"

His heart felt as if something had wrapped its fist around it.

Poor thing. Only a child…

He crept silently away. At a time like this, Kira needed to be alone, needed to sort herself out.

And he needed to talk to Éowyn…

Without Kira overhearing…

*****

Kate murmured and turned over in her "sleep." She snorted noisily a few times, and then slowly opened her eyes.

It was still nighttime. The stars were still reeling overheard and moonlight filled the clearing.

Gimli and Éowyn sat across from her, and they were whispering furiously to each-other.

She rubbed the stickiness out of her eyes, and was about to sit up when Kira walked back into the clearing.

The whispering abruptly stopped.

"Did you talk to Galadriel?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," Kira said, plopping down next to her. She leaned back against the tree-trunk behind her.

"Did you get an answer?"

"Yeah."

"What'd you ask her?"

"Nothing important."

Kate eyed her wryly. "If you say that, that means it is. Why don't you—"

Kira lifted her head abruptly. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"All right," Kate said placatingly. If Kira didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't going to push her.

Kira leaned back against the tree root, inclining her head to look up at the sky.

They were silent for a while.

"Sstarss are beautiful here, huh."

"Mmm hmm."

Tears welled up in Kira's eyes. "I misss the starsss back home, though. They're not as nice, but they're…they're our sstarss. They're Earth'ss starsss."

"We'll see them again," Kate said groggily. She turned over.

Kira chuckled a little at that, but Kate hadn't noticed. She was already "asleep" again.

Kira kept looking up at the stars. She picked up another leaf, and spun it between her fingers as she looked up.

There's nothing to fear, she told herself. Nothing to be afraid of. It's a gift. A gift.

Another part of her mind had an argument for that, though she was sure it wasn't the nasty part that she was trying to ignore. But your family is alive. Your friends are alive.

It's still a gift. Don't you understand that?

From deep within her, came an answer. But life is so much better…

*****

Kira awoke to someone viciously shaking her.

"Wake up, lass! Wake up!"

Kira opened her eyes to find Gimli's (somewhat) bearded face hovering over hers.

"Whaaat?" she murmured sleepily.

“We've overslept somehow! Or, more likely, the day's sped up! It's the late afternoon! The Lady said we should leave by dawn!"

Kira bolted upright, jumped to her feet, and immediately started gathering her things. Kate and Éowyn were already awake, and were buckling their belts and pulling on their packs. Thank goodness they had already packed the night before.

Kira hoisted the straps of her pack over her shoulders, wincing a little as the left strap dug in, then buckled her belt around her waist, and checked to make sure her short Elven sword, and short knife, were secured in their sheath and scabbard. Her pack had long straps so it hung low on her back, leaving room for her quiver and arrows. She slung her quiver over her shoulder and winced again, as she looped the straps through the convenient holes cut into her cloak to buckle them across her chest.

She wouldn't have to worry about carrying it for too long, though. She had the feeling that she wouldn't be up to shooting arrows soon. Her left arm was getting weaker, and her shoulder hurt more and more with each day.

Hell, she wouldn't have worry about carrying anything in a while…

Bad Kira. Stop being so negative, she scolded herself.

Last of all, she tucked her sturdy Lórien bow in a leather sort of sheath next to her quiver, in the Legolas/Robin Hood/pretty-much-any-archer fashion, and looked up to see if the others were ready to go.

"Um, guys, we have a slight problem. We haven't exactly decided where we're going to go…" Kate said.

"How about…Gondor?" Kira suggested.

"That would mean we would have to go back the way we came," Éowyn said. "And some of those assassins might be roaming through Rohan by now."

"Well, then, um…geez. We thought that Galadriel would tell us where to go," Kate said.

"Galadriel sssaid to me, 'the four of you mussst trussst to your own wissdom on thisss journey.'"

"We should have decided this last night," said Éowyn, and she seemed rather annoyed.

"Well, sssome of usss had a lot on our mindss lasst night," muttered Kira.

"It seems to me that we should—" Gimli started.

"Mai goveenen!" Someone shouted from behind them, and they all jumped. Kira and Kate winced at the spelling. As usual, they heard it get misspelled.

"Haldir! Go away, you poncy Elf!" Kate cried, when she turned around and saw the poncy Elf behind them. His eyes were glazed again—not that they had expected otherwise. She didn't think the real Haldir was poncy, of course, but Mary-Sued Haldir was almost as bad as Mary-Sued Legolas.

"Oritar calenn nirimorien. Talenn torar filigaldirin," Haldir said in Suvian Elvish, expecting her to understand and answer.

"'Ecky-ecky-ecky-ecky-pikang-zoop-boing-goodem-zoo-owli-zhiv!'" Kate responded without missing a beat.

"Ni!" Kira added ferociously in Haldir's direction. "Ni!"

He jumped.

"Now bring us a shrubbery!" Kate demanded.

Haldir backed up slightly, fear in his clouded eyes. "Er, the Lady Galadriel has several guests and there is to be a feast in their honor. The Lady would like you to attend—"

"No way in hell," stated Kira firmly. "We're leaving."

He turned to Kate. "But Princess Fishywishylishiel—"

"I'm Kate," Kate said sharply, and pointed to Kira. "And what she said."

"I say we should risssk Gondor. We can ussse Mary Ssue inconssisstancciesss to go right through Rohan and avoid the PPC. Hey, you're ssure there'sss no Bridge at Edorasss?"

"Positive," said Éowyn.

"Gondor then. Where elssse iss there to go? I doubt it'sss in the Sshire or Bree…hey, what if it'sss at Orthanc? Or Helm'sss Deep?"

"Perhaps we should—what is the meaning of this?!" Gimli started.

A large group of Elves came out of nowhere and started bustling them in one direction.

"Hey! Er, I am your princess! You can't treat me and my companions this way!" Kate yelled.

"Handsss off!" Kira shouted, but the Elves just kept pushing them.

"You must come to the feast," Haldir said jovially.

"But we don't wanna!" Kate cried, but the Elves just kept pushing them. Gimli and Éowyn tried to resist, but sheer numbers moved them along. Soon, they reached the place where they had feasted the night before…and Kira and Kate groaned.

The Lord and Lady sat at the head of the table, their eyes glazed and empty. All the Elves around them had the same glazed look.

But that wasn't what made them groan.

Seated around the table were several girls. Their skin was pale and flawless. Their hair was long and shiny. Their eyes were unnatural colors. And they had remarkably skinny waists and enormous busts.

Haldir gestured towards each and introduced them. He pointed to one with golden hair and silver-blue eyes.

"Lady Mellonlith, the tree friend. She is my sister," Haldir said cheerfully.

"No she isn't," both girls said at the same time, but Haldir ignored them and went on.

He pointed to another, smiling up him, and after looking at her, the girls had to wait for a moment before their eyes came back into focus. Her hair was an odd mix of pink, purple, and red, rather urplish-red, really. And her eyes, dear Lord, those horrible eyes…They were a swirling mass of colors that changed every three seconds. If they had to be given a specific color, they would be bluegreengraypurplesilverblackgolden.

"Lady Laurëkemen, Théoden's adopted niece—" Here Éowyn huffed indignantly and started to step forward, but Gimli held her back.

Haldir sighed wistfully as he looked at her. "She is my fiancée."

"Yuk," Kira and Kate both said.

He pointed to another, who was also smiling up at him. Her hair was blue, and her eyes were silver.

"Nessa Lossëhelin, the Water Maiden."

He sighed wistfully as he looked at her. "She is my fiancée."

Kate and Kira just rolled their eyes and groaned.

Then he pointed to one with light brown hair and hazel eyes who, oddly enough, was whistling "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" to herself. This one…was different. The eyes were only half glazed.

"Lady Shalaidah, Woman of the Wolves."

He pointed to the last, over in the corner, and the girls were completely surprised by this one.

"Lord Bragolthond. Master of Disaster," Haldir said, quite unenthusiastically. "Lord of Cheesiness."

His hair was a brown that could only have been called something like "burnished mahogany." And his light eyes could only be called something stupid like "gold-flecked winter sky."

But he was hot.

Really, really hot.

"Ooh. Did it just get warmer out here?" Kate asked, tugging at her collar.

"It'ss not jussst you."

Bragolthond regarded them with narrowed eyes. He seemed rather annoyed. In fact, he seemed disgusted with all the girls around him.

Kate and Kira didn't really care very much.

"Girls, we must move. It's danger—" Éowyn started.

"Staying for breakfast, er, lunch won't cause any harm," Kate said, appreciatively ogling the eye-candy that was Bragolthond and barely hearing Éowyn over the almost audible rush of hormones.

"And it'll sssave ssupplliesss," said a starry-eyed Kira.

"I don't think—" Gimli started to say, but the girls were already fighting over a seat next to the Marty Sam. Thanks to her unusual, Gollum-like strength, Kira won.

Gimli and Éowyn sat down across from the girls with an exasperated sigh.

"Hi!" Kira said to the Marty Sam, as Kate glared at her from the ground. "Name'sss too long to pronouncce, but you can call me Kira. Nice to meetcha."

"No," Bragolthond sneered. "It isn't."

Kira had never been the type to listen to her hormones for very long, and having something of a short temper when it came to some of the idiocies of the opposite sex, she also wasn't the type to put up with one when she found out they were a jerk.

Kira's eyes narrowed, and she abruptly got up. "You can have him," she said to Kate. "I don't want him."

Bragolthond just kept sneering.

"He'sss a jerk," Kira whispered, making sure she was loud enough for the Marty Sam to hear her.

Kate gave a short laugh, nodded and sat down next to him, albeit carefully. Kate, who was naturally very picky by nature when it came to the opposite sex and remembered Kira's something-of-a-conversation with Bragolthond, carefully ignored him. Instead, she tried talking to Shalaidah, whose eyes were only half glazed. She was humming a Monty Python song too…if she could unsue herself this much, it probably wouldn't take too much to unsue her completely…

Kira crossed around the table and sat in a chair next to Éowyn.

"We must leave!" Éowyn hissed.

"Let Kate try to unbrainwasssh that one. It might work."

Kate was currently singing "Springtime for Hitler" and it seemed to be working. Shalaidah was giggling and every few lines she managed to sing a snatch of the song.

"But that dragon said—"

"Ssscrew the dragon. She'sss caussed more harm than help sso far. Maybe sshe'ss wrong. Maybe we can unbrainwasssh them."

"I think you're just staying because of that boy."

"That'sss not true!"

"I don't think—" Gimli started, but for the second time that morning, he was interrupted.

"Duck!" Éowyn suddenly shouted, pulling out her sword as an arrow whistled through the air and embedded itself in Kira's chair, just above her shoulder. The Mary Sues screamed. Kate dived under the table and scrambled out the other side to join Kira, Gimli, and Éowyn. Chaos erupted as the Galadhrim began running around, bumping into each other confusedly and generally being un-Elvishly panicky. A Ringwraith and a Barrow-Wight emerged from the color changing trees and continued shooting at the Mary Sues.

"Wraiths!!" Gimli barked, reaching for his axe.

"No, PPC Agents!" Kate and Kira screamed as they made a mad dash for the trees. "RUN!"

Gimli and Éowyn, with a quick look at the approaching Assassins, high-tailed it after the girls.

"Where do we go?" Kate yelled as she ran.

"I don't know! Anywhere but here!" Kira chanced a look back. Gimli and Éowyn were easily
keeping up, but she and Kate were running as fast as they could, and the Nazgûl and Wight were catching up. Behind them, they saw the Wight close in on Bragolthond. The Marty-Sam looked as if he was going to rush forward and attack his assailant with something like the "strength equal to Tulkas, skill equal to Aulë, force equal to Oromë" or "Ki-Energy Manipulation" or some other confounded Marty-Sam power, but before he even had a chance to the swift Wight darted in and stabbed him in the throat.

Kira sobbed. Poor guy, she thought amid her panic. His character may have been a jerk, but he was probably a normal, nice person in real life. Or not. He was a guy, after all. But still…

The Assassins attention was drawn to them, and they shot arrows into the trees. They whistled right past the girls' faces, shredding right through foliage as they whizzed by.

"AAUGH!"

"Oh God!" Kate yelled, ducking between trees. "Just get us out of heeeere!" She shut her eyes tightly, which is not the best thing to do when one is running, but doesn't usually make too much of a difference to a Mary Sue.

"They're getting away!" one of the assassins screamed in a female voice that suddenly began to sound very far away as Mary Sue inconsistencies kicked in. Gimli and Éowyn cried out in surprise as they too were swept up in the unnatural speed of a Mary Sue getting from one place to the other. Their energy spent, Kira and Kate stopped running and bent over, trying to catch their breath.

"Where…do you…suppose we…are?" Kate gasped.

Kira didn't answer.

"Kira?"

"Open your eyesssss…" Kira said quietly.

Kate did so.

"Oh no…" she moaned, looking around. "Oh no…I don't want to be here!"