A few days after Haldir and I buried the hatchet and I decided to come back to Lorien to train, I got myself ready to do just that. I packed a satchel with clothing and weapons. Just as I was finishing packing, there was a knock on my door and my uncle entered. His features were very enigmatic and therefore I was not sure whether he came to tell me good or bad news.

"Uncle, is everything alright?" I asked nervously setting a dagger down I was about to pack.

"I have some news. Mithrandir has been captured at Dol Guldur by the Necromancer and your aunt went to get him out herself."

"Oh dear. Is he....?" My hand went up around my throat and I was afraid to finish the sentence.

"He is alive she thinks. Throughout her trip there, she has caught glimpses of what has been and it looks like the dwarves made it to Erebor after all. They did stop for a while in Mirkwood where they were held captive by Thranduil under the watchful eye of his son and another elf."

As he was speaking, he watched my facial expression as I gasped after his mention of Mirkwood and the son of Thranduil. My eyes widened as saucers. Why would Thranduil hold the dwarves captive if all they ever wanted to do was get home and save their homeland from that horrendous dragon, Smaug? And then I remembered the history the dwarves had with Thranduil especially between him and Thorin Oakenshield; they were not exactly the best of friends. I let my uncle finish as clearly there was more:

"A hobbit was traveling with them, I had met him when he was here with Mithrandir and it was he that helped the dwarves escape from the elves. They were however tracked by the gray Orc that wanted to crush them and get his revenge on Thorin for taking his arm off years ago. The son of Thranduil and a red headed elf gave chase to stop the dwarves escape but instead helped them out when everyone was attacked by orcs."

"Tauriel." I whispered.

"What was that?" He inquired.

"Her name is Tauriel; the red-headed elf." I answered looking away briefly. I tried not to let my emotions run amok on my face but that was kind of impossible. My uncle watched me shrewdly. When I looked back to him, he continued.

"Last thing Galadriel saw was that the dwarves were fighting the dragon in the lonely mountain, Legolas and Tauriel were fighting orcs in a human village under the mountain and apparently the war is coming because Dol Gulder has emptied of all of the orcs there. My question to you is, when it is time to fight, are you willing to do so? I will not force you. The choice is yours."

"I will fight to protect our lands and our people. You do not have to ask me uncle. That is why I am on my way to Lorien now, to train with Haldir. I want to be beyond ready." I said with hardened conviction.

"When I call for you, come home at once, and we shall go together to Mirkwood so you can meet Thranduil. I do not question your convictions but will you be able to keep focused with his son at your side?" He asked gently. I faltered for a brief second.

"I will make you proud, uncle." I said looking him in the eye. He came toward me then and enveloped me in a hug. When we parted he said:

"You have already made me proud, my child. I just want you to be safe and happy as I would all of my children." I sighed.

"I understand."

"I will let you get ready; safe travels my dear."

With those words and another brief hug, he left. I had so much on my mind from all of his revelations that I forgot what I was doing for a while. I just stared out my window at the bright blue sky. Finally, shaking my head, I knew I had to go. I finished putting everything into the satchel I was bringing and swung it over my shoulders and headed for the stables, where Sunset was ready for me. The caretakers secured my satchel to the horse and I got on. I slowly guided Sunset out of all of the gates and finally when we hit the open field, I let him fly.

As we made our way toward Lorien, the fast pace of the horse let me clear my head of my uncle's words. So Legolas was with Tauriel; at least in the fighting capacity. That part was understandable. I could not help though wonder what else they did together. On the one hand, I wanted to believe that the reason he stopped writing me was because he was busy and away from home. But a nagging little voice kept telling me that he had chosen her over me and that I should not even bother thinking about him as it would make me miserable.

We neared Lorien not too long after that; I had to shake those thoughts out of my head as I had to concentrate on training. Haldir had promised not to go easy on me. That he would pretend I was some evil orc and he even had some tests prepared for me with the rest of the Lorien army. I would have to face a lot of very experienced elves on my own. I was more than ready to test my skills. My head was filled with different maneuvers and ideas as I arrived in Lorien and got off Sunset to head to my quarters to put down all of my things. I prepared myself as I knew Haldir was already waiting for me. I strapped on Altherial as well as my daggers and put my throwing stars into strategic little pockets.

My training outfit looked a lot like my real battle outfit which was back in Rivendell ready for whatever war lay ahead. I knew now that there was going to be a war and that I was going to fight it. I had the opportunity to really prove myself to everyone around me as well as myself. I also had to get through my issue with Legolas. But that was the last thing on my mind. I was in full battle mode. My outfit on, Altherial unsheathed, and hair braided, I raced down the paths toward the gathered elves and ran up the banister and did my by now famous flip over it and landed soundlessly in front of Haldir with my sword at his throat; he gasped as he never heard or saw me coming.

"I am ready." I said my voice as battle ready as my actions. He was finally able to breathe when I lowered Altherial from his throat.

"Yes, this I can see. And feel." He rubbed his throat self-consciously.

"What do we do first?" I asked him looking around as the men all looked at each other nervously. A lot had never trained with me so to see what they just had, made them uneasy to say the least.

"I know you dislike it but I think we should work on your weakness. It would make sense if you did not have any." Haldir said wisely.

"Bow and arrow?" I said with a cringe.

"Yes."

"Haldir, that is great and all but you want to keep all of your men right? If you give me that, I will kill half of them not to mention anyone else who is in the vicinity." I said self-consciously as the others laughed. It was no secret how badly I operated that weapon.

"Let us compromise. I will teach you how to do a long shot. That way if you are in a battalion of elves you can make the far away shots, but once you get closer to your enemy you can use your sword and any of your other weapons. But start off with the long shot."

I thought about it and agreed to the compromise. I should at least be able to make a long shot across a field so that way there will not be any chance of me hitting mine own. When you are faced off against orcs or goblins, you are spread far and wide and if you point the arrow toward the sky at an angle, it will fly away from you. So for the coming days, we spent time on the open plains just practicing my long shot. At first, my arrows would just fly every which way but then slowly, very slowly, they flew straighter and with a purpose. I would have to figure out my angle and how much strength I would put into the bow in order for it to fly straight.

The rest of the Galadhrim or army of Lorien spent the time practicing themselves but they stayed far away from me until Haldir gave them the all clear that my long shots were working and they came by to watch me shoot one right after the other with careful precision. They started giving me long distance targets and when I started hitting them one right after the other, Haldir knew he had done his job. Our next order of business was for the Galadhrim and I to shoot simultaneously. We all lined up, with me in the front and on his command, made 5 consecutive long shots where our arrows all landed in a nice neat line.

That is when I knew that when war came, I did not have to stand on the sidelines anymore waiting for hand to hand combat. I could shoot with the best of them and when the others fell back, I could take out Altherial and go to work. I did not know how much Haldir knew about the upcoming battle but I finally felt that I did not have any weaknesses.

Now if I only knew what would happen when I saw Legolas again.....just have to follow my path I guess. Wherever it would lead me. 'Your destiny is a path you must walk. It will lead you to your true soul mate. That does not however mean your path will be an easy one. It never is. Just be strong, be you, and you will find your way'.