As they passed out of the archway of Rivendell, Legolas slowed his pace until he was side-by-side with Evangeline, who was in the back of the group. For a moment, he remained silent, taking in her beauty. Half of her black tresses were tied back in thin braids while her velvety green tunic brought out the depth of her currently brown eyes. Although her clothing did not reveal much skin, the tan of her hands and face told of many days in the sun. Practicing with her blades, no doubt.

It was rare enough that she was trained in Rivendell to be a warrior, but rarer still was her choice of weapon. Legolas knew few elleth who cared to learn the art of the sword. It was clear that Evangeline not only expected a fight, but intended to participate. Lost in his marveling, he didn't realize that she had been watching him.

"Yes?" she prodded, though not unpleasantly.

He snapped out of his daze as he faced the matter at hand. "I apologize for the earlier interruption. And I am not listening to him again," he gestured directly ahead towards Aragorn. "At least, as far as arrows are concerned."

She gave a little smile. "He is better at giving orders than he thinks he is."

"In the future, my bow will sing alongside your sword." Lengthening his stride, he resumed his place at the lead. He looked back to see if she was following him. She was still trailing the end of the group, behind Aragorn and Frodo. It dawned on him that she wanted time to herself. I wonder what troubles her. He turned back ahead to face the rocky foothills west of the Misty Mountains.

Evangeline cast down her gaze. She was not upset with Aragorn or Legolas. If anything, Aragorn's way of announcing and proving that she was an earthborn was less awkward than her assumption that Elrond was going to rise from his chair and announce out of nowhere who she was. She was recalling her conversation with Lord Daurion right before they had left Rivendell...

"Are you coming with us?" Evangeline asked.

"No, you are the better skilled of the two of us. There is nothing I can do that you cannot," he turned to leave, but changed his mind. "You know, you were meant to do more than trail along this Fellowship."

"What do you mean-"

"Why did you not volunteer to carry the Ring?" he demanded.

She didn't know how to explain. "It...it would have been wrong. Frodo was willing to carry it. The look in his eyes told of an inner strength that he was born with. No training could have given that to me. If Frodo needs an extra pair of swords in this quest, than that is what I'm willing to be."

He walked away.

Evangeline doubted it was because he believed her.

As she looked ahead at Frodo, she began to doubt her choice to leave the Ring to him. On the outside, he carried himself well, but in his eyes, she saw the pain and the war raging inside. Is this right? It is right that I let him carry the curse an earthborn created? Am I allowing him to fight the war I should be fighting? The thought left her unsettled. She had been trained to directly encounter her enemies as well as her problems, but she was not certain how to address this one.

Hours later, the company settled to take a break. It was about midday and the sun shone directly upon the open green hills. Sam started a fire to boil water for tea while Gandalf settled on a nearby rock, smoking his pipe. Evangeline was admiring the clear sky when two hobbits walked up to her. Ah! These are the cousins, if I recall correctly.

"My lady!" the lighter-haired one addressed her.

"Seeing that you are so skilled, would ya mind giving us hobbits a little lesson? We ain't so bad ourselves, but one should be open to improving once and a while." The dark-haired one nodded cheerfully.

Evangeline saw Aragorn raise his eyebrows at her. She smiled at the hobbits. "I don't see why not. But, only you tell me which one of you is who."

"I'm Pippin and this is Merry. At your service, milady!" The one with darker hair gave a little bow.

"We can't very well serve her if we can't fight, Pip!" Merry chided.

"Well then, let us begin," Evangeline said, withdrawing one sword.

As Evangeline showed them different positions and how to strike using the angles as an advantage above mere strength, Legolas watched with a little jealousy. She got along so well with hobbits, elves, and men, judging from Aragorn. He, on the other hand, did not seem to be able to connect with any of the company other than those he already knew: Gandalf and Aragorn.

Gimli crept up next to Legolas. "I heard the promise you made to the lass." His eyes twinkled.

Legolas glanced down with an impassive face. Why does he smile at me?

"Tis good to know someone's keeping an eye out for her," Gimli said thoughtfully. He waited for a moment before leaving the silent elf to ponder his words. Turning to Gandalf, Gimli suggested that the Fellowship travel through the mines of Moria, a shorter way to reach the pass of Rohan. "My cousin would give us a fine welcome as we pass through Moria," he added enthusiastically.

Overhearing it, Evangeline paused in the middle of her lesson. No, Gandalf. Not the mines. Anywhere but the mines. She shuddered, unable to understand how a dwarf could live in a place that was always dark, cramped, and worst of all, dry.

"No, Gimli. I would not go through there unless I had no other choice," Gandalf said, blowing from his pipe.

Evangeline closed her eyes in relief. Thank the Valar!

"Evangeline!"

She snapped out of their conversation. "Yes?"

"We're ready to duel!" They both held out their swords readily.

She gave an exaggerated sigh. "You know, I'm not quite sure I can handle the two of you. I think I'll leave that to him." She pointed at Boromir, who had not spoken a word to her since leaving Rivendell. He pointed at himself, surprised but pleased. Evangeline nodded. As he happily took on the hobbits training, Evangeline was satisfied. Good. He knows now that I do not hold any ill feelings towards him. She hated the idea of having him upset at her, especially since they would all be traveling together for a while.

Pippin cried out as Boromir accidently nicked his hand. Boromir let down his guard. "Sorry, sorry!"

Evangeline pretended to admonish him. "Boromir, do not kill my apprentices!"

"It's not like I meant to!" he retorted, laughing.

Pippin clutched his own injured hand and kicked Boromir. He and Merry launched an attack of their own, pulling Boromir to the ground.

"That's enough!" Aragorn chided, reaching down to pull the hobbits off of Boromir. Merry and Pippin smashed into his legs, causing Aragorn to land like a sack of rocks. "Oomph!"

As Legolas watched, he smiled. Evangeline laughed so hard that she held her sides. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were flushed. Legolas suddenly desired the ability to do that: to make her laugh and smile. Her simple innocence warmed his heart, and he felt all the more protective of her. She seemed to be getting along quite well with Boromir, and he could not help but wonder if she shared in Boromir's feelings. His smile faded as he regarded his own situation. Well, if he is the key to ensuring her happiness...

A black speck in a cloudless sky swept away his thoughts. He walked over to take a look. The black speck multiplied to hundreds. It was quickly growing and approaching from Isengard. "Crebain from Dunland!"

"Hide! Take cover!" Aragorn shouted. Everyone scurried to grab their belongings and take refuge under the rocks and shrubs. Evangeline immediately doused the fire with the only water she held in her water skin. She cursed herself when she realized that Sam already had a pitcher ready. She slid underneath the bushes with Merry and Pippin. The black birds viciously swarmed overhead, cawing and shrieking. She held her breath as they made a U-turn back to Isengard. After a moment of silence, she started to creep out of the bushes. A single pair of crow-like feet landed in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She slowly rose from her crouched position and instinctively reached for her dagger. As its eyes locked onto hers, its black pupils mutated into a bloodshot hue. Her heart rate quickened. It opened its black maw. However, it never made a sound, silenced forever by a single white arrow.

Gandalf burst out from his hiding spot as everyone else emerged from the bushes and rocks. "The southern passage is being watched! We must take the pass of Caradhrass!" he pointed his staff towards the mountains.

Hours later, as they hiked across the hardened snow, Evangeline stayed up ahead with Gandalf. Although she couldn't control snow, she could sense running water, which would be handy in case there was a section that was starting to loosen from melting. She quickly glanced to the back before turning ahead. Aragorn was helping Frodo along, who had clearly tired greatly since leaving Rivendell. Evangeline's soul trembled after glancing back at Frodo.

See, earthborn. Watch him suffer. Watch...

Silence! Evangeline screamed in her mind. She hated the voice from Mordor. She hated that part of her believed it while another part recoiled from it as she would a serpent. The Dark Lord loses no chance to destroy us from the inside out. Evangeline halted and turned around. Everyone had stopped to watch Boromir, who was holding the Ring, clearly entranced. Aragorn commanded him to give it back to Frodo. Boromir looked reluctant to, but did so anyway. Evangeline made up her mind. I will not take the Ring! If I do so, Boromir will be goaded all the more to taking it. And he, of all people, have no business doing so. As everyone started moving again, she resolved to keep an eye on Boromir.

Gandalf worriedly scanned the darkening skies. Evangeline shrugged and switched places with Legolas, who was in the middle of the group. Certainly, with the upcoming blizzard, there was no need to worry about melting snow.

Hours later, Evangeline trudged in knee-deep snow. Blizzards are the curses of nature! The bitter cold stung her cheeks and the swirling snow made it difficult to see. She was more fortunate than the others. Everyone else's weight dragged them down until the snow was up to their waists, except for the pair of boots that lightly padded the snow in front of her. Legolas. She gave a little puff as she wished for the thousandth time that she was an elf. At least enough to be that light!

Legolas was yelling something up ahead about a voice in the air. Gandalf heard it too. "It's Saruman!" Gandalf shouted.

An uncanny bolt of lightning struck the top of the mountain above them, snapping off the cap of solid ice. Evangeline couldn't see it, but she could hear the ice whizzing through the air to smash them.

Gandalf shouted out a spell and Evangeline threw her energy above, uniting it with the spell. The thick wedge of ice shattered and puffed, burying everyone in ten feet of powdery snow.

Evangeline started digging herself out of the icy blanket. She had never thought to move her draw towards water into the same direction as a spell, but for some reason, it felt so natural to do so when Gandalf started chanting. It feels strange, but not hard. Perhaps it is like what happened with the magic in Rivendell's borders. Her head broke through the snow. Icy wind whirled through her hair. Aragorn and Boromir were shouting to turn back and head through the Mines of Moria, but Gandalf insisted, "No!"

"It will be the death of the little ones!" Boromir cried, referring to the hobbits.

Gandalf relented. No matter what he thought or knew, it was not rightfully his choice to make. "Let the Ring Bearer decide."

Frodo shivered, but his voice was firm. "We will go through the mines!"

"No!" Evangeline cried. She withdrew her sword and anchored herself into the snow. Her energy drained from her as she spoke. She could not tell whether it was from working with Gandalf's magic or trudging through an everlasting blizzard.

"Evangeline!" Aragorn cried, "No one fancies going into the mines. But no one will survive unless we do so!"

"And what is there to hate about caves?" Gimli grumbled, offended.

Evangeline shook her head as she sunk to her knees. They are wrong! It was already hard enough to fight enemies they could see. Now they were going to waltz into a place where one could lurk in every corner without them knowing. She hated to admit it to herself, but it was not the dark that scared her. It was simply not knowing. It was the state of not being prepared for a life-threatening danger.

A strong hand gently clasped her arm. She turned to her right, surprised that Aragorn...no, Legolas, was not attempting to drag her with the rest of them. "We are all in this together!" he shouted. On the outside, he appeared confident, encouraging. Inside, he was desperate to help her. He knew she was taught to smother her fears. The fact she was anchoring herself to a mountain of ice to avoid entering the caves revealed to him how real her fear was to her.

There is no way out of this. Evangeline felt the doom creeping into her mind. Reality settled, and she decided against freezing to death. She grabbed Legolas' hand and he pulled her to her feet, holding her close as they backtracked down the mountain.

Just wanted to say a special thank you to everyone who comments! You are most encouraging and your words never fail to make me smile. Any mistakes you point out are super helpful too, so thank you, thank you, thank you! 😘